Electricity + Control July 2017

round up

POWER SOLUTIONS

Stable power supply National intervention essential

Off-grid solutions power Africa With more than 600 million people in Africa lacking ac- cess to lean, affordable, reliable energy, new technologi- cal developments such as off-grid solutions are becoming increasingly important. Cummins Power Generation specialises in the design and manufacture of pre-integrat- ed generator sets from 8 kVA to 3 300 kVA. Off-grid solutions are based on the specific needs of the operation or application in question, classed general- ly as either ‘standby’ or ‘prime’. ‘Standby’ provides pow- er in the event of grid failure, which means the duty is far lower. A light application, for example, would require a generator designed for around 20 to 40 hours of oper- ation a month. ‘Prime’ solutions are entirely separate from the na- tional grid, and supply load power on a 24/7 basis. “This option requires considerably better planning and far greater investment, as the entire outcome of the oper- ation depends on the power supply,” Cummins Power Generation Director Kenny Gaynor comments. “The genset needs to be specified precisely. This means the most important aspect to take into consider- ation is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or supplier. Product quality, parts availability, aftersales ser- vice, and technical capability are paramount to success.” Gaynor stresses. Enquiries: Sal Govender. Email sal.govender@cummins.com

Ken Robinson, Managing Director-Resources and Associate Director at Accenture and speaker at the upcoming POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa , says South Africa’s generation crisis is largely under control, but that power supply challenges loom in distribution. “The bulk of this distri- bution problem lies with municipalities.” Robinson believes the situation demands national intervention. “The maintenance backlog is largely due to institutional capacity and funding, so steps should be taken at a national level to address those issues.” He proposes that if the biggest challenge lies in skills, a process be initiated by NERSA whereby the electricity distribution licences of the worst perform- ing municipal distributors be cancelled, and Eskom be tasked with supply- ing those failing municipalities. “If the key issue proves to be capital, we need to look to private sector capital. We saw private sector successfully engaged on the renewables programme, so there is no reason private sector investment could not be secured for municipal power investments, provided there is an assurance private sector investors would be paid.” South African National Energy Division Institute (SANEDI) CEO Kevin Nassiep believes optimising utilities and the grid itself could go some way to assuring sustainable power supplies in South Africa. “We need to ef- fectively harmonise our energy systems, achieve the right energy mix, and look to best practice in optimising the value utilities can create. South Africa’s power market missed an opportunity to privatise, which would have led to greater efficiencies”, he says. Enquiries: Leigh Angelo. Email leigh@tradeprojects.co.za Inverters to be installed in solar plants in India GE Energy Connections is partnering with Solairedirect , a subsidiary of Engie, to equip its plants with 140 MW of LV5 1 MW solar inverters as well as a 25 year, Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA). Inverters will be installed in two solar plants with 70 MW capacity each. Included in the service agreement is the provision of parts when needed and the required man-hours for repairs and maintenance for these two plants. The right technology is key to the plants’ success, but ensuring that the technology can continue to keep performing to the desired standard is arguably just as important. GE’s LTSA ensures high availability and high energy output of the plant. Thanks to the service agreement, the custom- er can benefit from improved project bankability and reduce the total cost of ownership throughout the lifespan of the two solar plants. “In an ever more competitive solar industry, service becomes the POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2017 will take place from 18 – 20 July at the Sandton Convention Centre.

differentiator. Thanks to the LTSA pro- vided by GE, lifetime support is guar- anteed for our two plants. We are con- fident in the knowledge that we will be able to continue efficiently supplying solar-fuelled power. We look forward to continuing to work with GE,” com- ments by Solairedirect. Enquiries: Email wenlin.jin@ge.com

Cummins Power Generation Director, Kenny Gaynor.

8 Electricity + Control

JULY 2017