MechChem Africa March-April 2022

⎪ PowerGen,PetroChem and Sustainable energy management ⎪

The 100 MW Redstone power tower con- centrated solar power (CSP) project has achieved its first debt drawdown on the largest renewable energy investment in South Africa to date. The Af r i can Deve l opment Bank acted as the Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) and Coordinating Bank for the total R11.6-billion investment, with its own com- mitment of R2.306-billion. The project has also secured financing from international and South African financial institutions, including ABSA, CDC Group, DBSA, the DEG fromGermany and the FMO fromThe Netherlands, Investec, Nedbank, Sanlam, and the IDC. Redstone is led by ACWA Power, a lead- ing Saudi developer, investor and operator tions, so it can be used in a range of applica- tions,” Mitton says. “For emergencies, it can replace an existing substation transformer in the event of failure, and for standby applica- tions it can handle temporary overloads at substations.” It can also be put to use during routine maintenance, tomanage the loads of existing substations being maintained, repaired or inspected. This minimises the delay in taking out the unit due to load and other system constraints. The mobile substation can even be used to provide power for large project sites or mining sites of high importance. Mitton highlights that the design and con- struction of solutions formobile applications, including mobile generators, is one of Zest WEG’s strengths. The expertise and capabil- itywithin the business allow these units to be custom-designed to suit customer require- ments. In fact, none of the mobile solutions provided to date has been identical. “We have acquired valuable experience frommany years of designing, manufacturing and supplying mobile solutions in modular configurable designs – mainly for Africa and Latin America,” he says. “These are not off-the-shelf products, but are custom- engineered solutions to technically comply with user specifications, integral require- ments, theoperational environment, logistical requirements and the safety of the operating personnel.” Themobile substation forGuinea includes innovative design features such as the inte- gration of several functions into a compact, modular design. New technologies such as hybrid circuit breakers have been employed, along with disconnectors, earthing switches, ring-type current transformers, inductive voltage transformers and surge arresters.

The high voltage is stepped down from 110 kV or 60 kV to 20 kV or 30 kV, depending on requirements, by a dual rated mobile transformer designed and manufactured by Zest WEG.

Redstone CSP will offset an estimated 440 metric tons of CO 2 emissions per year while also providing value-adding ancillary services to Eskom. The project is certified under the Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme and aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, which seeks to limit globalwarming tounder 2.0°C, while efficiently delivering clean energy to the national grid. The project will reach close to 44% local content on procurement during the con- struction period; create more than 2 000 construction jobs at its peak, withabout 400 from the local community; and will create approximately 100 permanent direct jobs during the operating period. www.afdb.org placed just before the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020, so the project had to be man- aged under challenging conditions. The fac- tory acceptance testing of key components, for instance, could not be done in person due to travel restrictions – so this was success- fully done through virtual platforms across different time zones. “All in all, we embraced the new com- munication technologies and proved once again that we could deliver to customer requirements even under unprecedented conditions,” Mitton says. “Being able tomeet the stringent require- ments of Electricité De Guinée, through close collaboration with the Robustrade team, ensured the project was a success, proving this solution suitable for use across the region,” he concludes. www.zestweg.com

of power generation, water desalination and hydrogen plants in 12 countries, which is also the lead shareholder in Redstone. Co-shareholders include theCentral Energy Fund, Pele Green Energy and the local community. Located in the Northern Cape Province of SouthAfrica, theRedstone projectwill be equipped with a 12-hour thermal storage system that will deliver clean and reliable electricity to nearly 200 000 households round the clock. The construction for the project is currently in its ninth month, with engineering works over 58% completed. The tower foundation for the project, a key construction milestone, has now been completed with the commencement of op- erations scheduled for Q4 of 2023. “All the functionalities are included in a single prefabricated solution, while space require- ments for switchgear bays are reduced throughhigh integrationof components,” says Mitton. “The substation’s transformer was specifically designed and manufactured by WEG in Brazil for mobile applications.” Other special features include bushings made of composite silicon rubber, as well as an advancedmechanical and electrical safety interlock system. The modular design simpli- fies on-site installation, as all equipment has beenpre-fabricated, pre-wiredandpre-tested before shipping. “This enhances the reliability of the solution, which translates into high avail- ability and less maintenance,” he says. “It also simplifies the transport, logistics and commissioning.” The order for the mobile sub-station was

Redstone CSP achieves first debt draw down

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