South African power utility Eskom has launched a solar photovoltaic installation at its large coal fired Lethabo Power Station in the Free State.
This is the first stage of a pilot project designed to introduce renewable energy sources to supply power for internal use at Eskom’s coal-fired power stations. It will also reduce the company’s carbon footprint by approximately 2 845 tons per annum.
This is the first stage of a pilot project designed to introduce renewable energy sources to supply power for internal use at Eskom’s coal-fired power stations. It will also reduce the company’s carbon footprint by approximately 2 845 tons per annum.
The pilot plants, each of one hectare, are located on Greenfield sites adjacent to the coal-fired power stations at Lethabo, near Vereeniging in Gauteng, Kendal in Mpumalanga and Eskom’s head office at Megawatt Park in Sunninghill.
The electricity generated from the solar PV plants at Lethabo and Kendal power stations will provide power during daylight hours for the administration buildings, security and terrace lighting, and unit lighting board reducing auxiliary power consumption.
The units at Megawatt Park will supply 5 percent of auxiliary power to its administration building.
The PV plants are designed to operate independently to produce electrical power for use by the existing power stations and head office, and will be capable of remote operation and monitoring.
Eskom says the Lethabo installation will comprise a single-axis tracking solar PV power plant with a peaking capacity of 575kW and a production potential of 1.25-million kWh per year.
“This installation demonstrates that we are delivering on our commitment to move towards a lower carbon future over time,” says Brian Dames, chief executive officer of Eskom.
He says Eskom has undertaken to invest in renewable energy projects, and in cleaner coal technologies and these solar panels are an important first step towards that.
Dames explains that Eskom has a long term strategy to reduce its carbon footprint, and immediate priority is to reduce emissions at its existing fleet of power stations.
“The solar PV project forms a significant part of that strategy and the lessons learned at the pilot plants will support the rollout of these systems across all Eskom’s coal-fired stations over time.”
He adds that other technologies including biomass cofiring are also being investigated to reduce emissions from the existing fleet of power stations. – Denise Mhlanga
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