Renewables can save the national grid

As the debate over South Africa’s electricity supply rages on, renewables are making headway in providing support to the national grid. According to Eskom Transmission’s load forecast data over the past two years, the country’s daily peak load is around 34 GW. Renewables support the energy demand of the national grid SA Asante Phiri, Operations and Maintenance Manager at Enel Green Power SA (EGP RSA) explains how renewables work with the national grid. More importantly, Phiri highlights how it is being used to help meet the country’s current energy demand. Since the end of January this year, the renewable energy program…

As the debate over South Africa’s electricity supply rages on, renewables are making headway in providing support to the national grid.

According to Eskom Transmission’s load forecast data over the past two years, the country’s daily peak load is around 34 GW.

Renewable energies support the national grid

South Africa’s energy demand

Asante Phiri, Operations and Maintenance Manager at Enel Green Power SA (EGP RSA) explains how renewable energy works with the national grid.

More importantly, Phiri highlights how it is being used to help meet the country’s current energy demand.

At the end of January this year, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Program (REIPPP) had 5,901 MW of renewable energy connected to the grid.

The majority of this, approximately 3,163 MW, is wind power, followed by solar power, at 2,212 MW and the remainder is 500 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP).

These numbers are expected to increase with upcoming commercial and industrial projects.

Build Licenses

These new commercial and industrial projects are partly driven by President Ramaphosa’s recent announcement that projects under 100 MW do not require a generation license.

This allows companies to undertake projects of this nature without having to go through the production permit application process.

Providing support to the national network is not a simple operation. The fundamental difference between renewable and non-renewable energy is the way electricity is generated.

How electricity is produced

In a traditional thermal power plant, coal is burned to create steam. The steam drives a turbine which drives the generator.

With renewables, another source is used to drive the generator, such as wind.

Solar panels work slightly differently, but electricity is still generated and electrons flow through the grid and become indistinguishable from each other.

Renewable energy faces a challenge that it must overcome to provide electricity.

The challenges of renewable energies

Since there is no control over the sun and the wind, if the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, access to these resources is lost.

So there is variability in terms of feeding.

This complicates the task of personnel controlling the national network, as they need a certain level of stability to maintain the integrity of the network.

However, if battery technology is integrated into the system, excess supply can be stored and used when needed, i.e. during times of low wind or solar resources.

How Eskom can reduce generator power

To control the overall dynamics of the grid, the system’s traditional assets work hand-in-hand with the renewable energy source.

How? When the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, Eskom can reduce the power of its generators to allow renewable energy plants to produce, and when renewable energy production is low, Eskom’s generators can fill the gap.

This is a very technical process and managed by highly trained personnel as Eskom must maintain network integrity at all times.

If imbalances arise in the network, it could ripple to the point where an outage occurs in a region or even the country, and when that happens, it is difficult to get the network back up and running.

Global warming and renewable energies

The sectors that consume the most energy are generally mining, material beneficiation and material manufacturing.

Due to global warming, many countries and companies in these countries have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint, and countries have signed the international treaty on climate change, namely the Paris Agreement.

Many investors these days also want to know about the environmental and social governance (ESG) status of the projects or companies they invest in – how these companies are tackling issues such as climate change.

This is where renewable energy fits in as it allows companies and countries to rise to the challenge of meeting the requirements of the Paris Agreement and the demands of investors, allowing them to use clean and sustainable energy. .

Can South Africa be powered by renewable energy alone?

With the advancements in technology and the resources that we have in the country, it is actually envisioned that there could be quite a high contribution from renewables.

However, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) provides for other forms of technology. If a country has good water resources (hydroelectric dams), it is easier to have a fully renewable energy system.

And if there is storage in the system – like a significant number of batteries are built into the system – then powering the country solely with renewable energy is theoretically possible.

Battery technology is developing at a rapid pace, which is exciting; however, South Africa still has a long way to go before it can be powered solely by renewable energy.

Can existing renewable power plants supply more electricity to the grid than they already are?

Many renewable power plants connected to the system have an installed capacity slightly higher than what they are supposed to produce.

This is to meet the technical capabilities that power plants need to meet the requirements of maintaining grid stability and is referred to as grid code compliance.

So, although some IPPs have additional electricity in their plants, they are currently unable to supply it to Eskom due to grid code compliance.

This essentially means that most IPPs are currently providing the maximum they can technically and legally provide.

In conclusion, energy supply is a dynamic and technically complex process, especially in a country where the circumstances are so unique.

However, with advances in technology and hopefully growing support from renewable energy providers such as EGP RSA, the prospect of a national grid with higher levels of renewable energy penetration n is not necessarily too distant an ambition for the future.

Asante Phiri, Operations and Maintenance Manager: Southern Africa, at Enel Green Power South Africa (EGP RSA).