Mechanical Technology March 2016

⎪ Special report ⎪

for Africa by Africans

Above: The ZiZaBoNa regional transmission project involves a 330 kV transmission line to interconnect the grids of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. This will allow wheeling of power between the coun- tries for better reliability. Right: Of the 620-million people in sub-Saharan Africa without electricity, 86% live in rural communities. Frey suggests that large regional projects may not help these people and that “micro-distribution networks are therefore a very good idea.” Left: Zambia relies on hydropower for virtually all of its electricity generation, more than 90% of which is produced by just three major dams – Kafue Gorge, Kariba (shown here) and Victoria Falls.

easing congestion, on the existing north- south transmission corridor from South Africa to Zimbabwe, the US$220-million investment would support the transfer of 600 MW of electricity, mostly from existing and future hydroelectric plants in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe and Zambia, according to Siliya, also remain keen on the develop- ment of the 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge Hydro Scheme on the Zambesi down- stream of the Victoria falls, for which private investment of US$5-billion is being sought. Nuclear parting SA’s energy mix “Nobody in nuclear is saying that we should only be focusing on nuclear; we are saying that South Africa needs an energy mix where nuclear forms part of that mix. We are saying that South Africa needs an optimum mix and we must not put all our eggs into one basket,” says Knox Msebenzi, managing director for the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA). He says that nuclear power develop- ment brings with it the opportunity for South Africa to become skilled and com- petent as a nation in certain technologi- cal developments that aren’t found with other forms of energy. Spinoff benefits to having a thriving nuclear industry include the opportunity to increase the already successful nuclear medicines industry. “Another benefit of nuclear is that, un- like renewables, nuclear power is reliable and can be dispersed no matter what the weather conditions. It provides base-load power to the grid, whereas renewables are far less reliable in terms of capacity

factors. Base-load coal has the disadvan- tage of high carbon emissions and, while gas also provides base load power, our domestic supplies are not yet exploited,” Msebenzi adds With respect to the cost of base-load fuel, gas is the most expensive, followed by coal. Nuclear fuel is, in fact, the least expensive,” he says. Msebenzi agrees that all technologies have potential risks. Safety is therefore paramount. “The National Nuclear Regulator is a very active and robust regulator. The safety of South Africa’s nuclear power plants is governed by legislation, which is governed by the nuclear regulator. Safety comes first, but we cannot let the fears of what happened elsewhere stop us from advancing as a nation,” he urges. Msebenzi admits that a nuclear build programme will be capital intensive; which is why it is critical to get the right funding with low interest rates. “The financing model is critical. Government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Procurement Programme is a world class one with excellent financing models, and so can the nuclear build programme be.” “There is a school of thought that esti- mates that 70% (by value) of the nuclear build programme can be sourced locally. This will reinvigorate the nuclear industry, boost skills, create whole new industries and, therefore, create employment. “And the nuclear build programme can also be viewed as a regional power project that will see South Africa supply- ing cheap electrical power beyond our borders,” Msebenzi concludes. q

communities, Frey says that regional integration may not be the solution for rural people, which have to be part of the solution. “But regional integration is essential to get large projects moving!” he insists, adding that one or two criti- cal projects need to succeed to drive the growth of regional cooperation. Regional project cooperation however requires a transmission infrastructure to allow different nations to benefit from generation investments. In East Africa, for example, major projects have become gridlocked, because the transmission infrastructure is too weak to allow for wheeling of the power across the region. In the SADC region, the ZiZaBoNa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Nami­ bia) regional transmission project aims to overcome this problem. The project involves a 330 kV Interconnector line to link the grids of all four countries. It was originally conceived to enable the wheeling of power from north to south or vice versa via the Caprivi Link – and the revised project components now include a direct line from Livingstone to Zambezi together with a radial connection from Victoria Falls to Pandamatenga. Pressed by Frey during the forum, Zambia’s Energy and Water Development Minister, Dora Siliya, and Zimbabwe Energy and Power Development Minister, Samuel Undenge, agreed to move this project forward as a priority. As well as

Mechanical Technology — March 2016

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