Put our resources together and solve the electricity crisis

Cape Times Brenda Martin 9 July, 2013.

PEOPLE are not great at joining the dots between cause and effect, but there is fairly widespread agreement that planning ahead is wise. We plan ahead when we prepare supper, we plan for our children’s education and we buy insurance “just in case” something happens.

But what happens to our planning when uncertainty rules? When unforeseen financial pressures knock over our deck of planning cards – like sudden electricity price hikes or an overnight petrol increase, not to mention water scarcity, turbulence and uncertainty in general?

More…

Medupi start-up delayed to mid-2014

By: Terence Creamer | 8th July 2013 | Engineering News

State-owned power utility Eskom confirmed on Monday that it would not be in a position to meet the end of year deadline for the flow of first power from the Medupi power station.

CEO <strong>Brian Dames</strong> reported that, following an independent assessment and fresh delays to the control and instrumentation contract, a new, “realistic”, timeframe had been set for the second half of 2014.

The power station was meant to supply first power to the grid by December 2013, a deadline reaffirmed as non-negotiable earlier this year by Public Enterprises Minister <strong>Malusi Gigaba</strong>.

Dames also confirmed that the cost of the project had increased from R91.2-billion to R105-billion, excluding interest during construction. In 2008, when the main boiler, turbine and civil contracts had been placed, Medupi’s cost was estimated at R87-billion and was revised to R91.2-billion in June 2012.

SOURCE: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/medupi-start-up-delayed-to-mid-2014-costs-rise-to-r105bn-2013-07-08

Draft energy roadmap to be released for public comment this month

The Department of Energy (DoE) has confirmed that the draft Integrated Energy Planning Report has been approved by Cabinet and will be released during the course of July.

Read more…

Rosatom awaits SA govt decision on nuclear power

Engineering News 28 June 2013.

Russian State-owned nuclear company Rosatom was awaiting the South African government’s decision regarding the nuclear aspect of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010), as well as Russia’s role in this regard, deputy director-general Kirill Komarovsaid on Thursday.

In April, the South African government indicated that it was set on pursuing its plan, contained in the IRP2010, to construct new nuclear power plants (NPPs) and increase the country’s amount of nuclear-generated electricity to 9.6 GW by 2030. This is in part to help meet South Africa’s growing electricity needs and to reduce the country’s high greenhouse-gas emissions…

More…

Is the End of EV Range Anxiety in Sight? Nine Strategies To Put EV Owners At Ease

In the early days of the automobile, travel required careful planning. There were no convenient places to fill up your car—gasoline had to be obtained at “bulk depots” located outside of the cities. In 1905 the first gas station was born. Early adopters of the automobile had what we now call “range anxiety,” a fear of running out of fuel. By 1930, the number of gas stations increased to 100,000, AAA was offering emergency roadside assistance to stranded drivers, and range anxiety seemed a thing of the past. Now, with the move to electric vehicles, range anxiety is appearing once again.

Though in the U.S. 95 percent of all single-trip journeys by car are less than 30 miles, well within the range of most EVs, manufacturers are sensing reluctance to purchase all-electric vehicles due to range anxiety. Yet various strategies are emerging that can put people’s range fears to rest. From already available quick-charging stations to futuristic charging coils built into the road, companies are trying to figure out how to get people over their range anxiety.

Read more…

Eskom cuts power to BHP smelter to save energy

Mail and Guardian 26 June 2013.

An agreement between state-run Eskom and BHP allows the utility to interrupt power to the latter’s energy-intensive smelters if the national grid approaches a tipping point.

“We did interrupt supply to one of the BHP Billiton units for a time, but still have emergency reserves available,” Eskom spokesperson Hilary Joffe said on Tuesday. She also said Eskom ran gas turbines that it activates when supply is tight.

Eskom said on Monday the power reserve margin for the evening was expected to be extremely tight at 29 megawatts (MW), or just 0.08% of available power…

More…

South African mandatory GHG reporting system to be implemented in 2014

Urban Earth 14 June 2013.

he Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) expects to implement a mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting system in South Africa in 2014 says Jongikhaya Witi, Director of the Climate Change Monitoring & Evaluation Unit at the DEA.

According to the National Climate Change Response White Paper companies and entities that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of GHGs annually or that consume electricity that results in more than 100,000 tonnes of emissions from the electricity sector will be required to report on their GHG emissions in the new system…

More…