November 1, 2008

Under construction in South Africa

By Sonal Patel

Arnot power station capacity increase project

Capacity at Arnot power station, near Middelburg in Mpumalanga, is to increase 270 MW. As of March 2008, 120 MW had been commissioned. The planned completion date for the last unit is the end of 2010.

West Coast wind farm project

Located on the West Coast near the town of Koekenaap, the wind energy facility is proposed to accommodate 50 turbines, each rated at 2 MW, for a total capacity of 100 MW. The turbines would be positioned over an area of approximately 9.65 square miles. The environmental authorization was issued in May 2008. Subject to the necessary approvals, the plant could be operational by the middle of 2010.

New nuclear plants

Among Eskom’s planned but unconfirmed projects is a 120 billion rand ($14.7 billion) nuclear power plant. AREVA and Westinghouse Electric Co. have so far bid for the contract, and Eskom’s decision is imminent, a September news report revealed. AREVA has proposed building two 1,650-MW reactors, while Westinghouse has offered three 1,140-MW reactors. Reuters reported earlier this year that the plant could be fully operational by 2016. It will be the first of five or six Eskom plans to build to help solve the energy crunch.

Transmission

Some of the major transmission projects include a new 400-kV transmission line and three new substations to strengthen the supply to the Platinum Basin, which will be completed this year. A new 765-kV transmission power line and associated substations infrastructure from the Zeus substation in Mpumalanga to the Omega substation, near Koeberg power station, is also in the works. Eskom expects that when completed in 2010/11, this 1,450-km line will considerably strengthen the electricity supply to the Western Cape.