Electricity + Control August 2015

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Editor:
Wendy Izgorsek
Design & Layout:
Adél JvR Bothma
Advertising Managers:
Helen Couvaras and
Heidi Jandrell
Circulation:
Karen Smith
Reader Enquiries:
Radha Naidoo
Publisher:
Karen Grant
EditorialTechnical
Director:
Ian Jandrell
Published monthly by:
Crown Publications cc
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Bedford Gardens
PO Box 140, Bedfordview 2008
Tel: (011) 622-4770; Fax: (011) 615-6108
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Printed by:Tandym Print
Quarter 1 (Jan - Mar 2015)
Total print circulation: 4737
The views expressed in this publication are
not necessarily those of the publisher, the
editor, SAAEs, SAEE, CESA, IESSA or the
Copper Development Association Africa
Electricity+Control is supported by:
Africa is a continent endowed with significant
resources – many untapped. What is important
is that they be tapped in a responsible manner.
There is enormous potential in the continent’s
energy space, part of which relates to well-known
natural reserves of fossil fuels and substantial
hydropower.
In the larger scheme of things, the final solution to
our energy requirements will be through a mix of
various sources of energy. I believe that hydro and
solar will play an important role in that mix, with a
commitment to smart use, smart management and
smart control. We cannot lose sight of the fact the
93 % of our hydropower is untapped, and that we
have the highest solar radiation of all the continents.
We will certainly continue to burn coal for far longer
than we should, and we are likely to see growth in
nuclear generation as a critical component of the
base load supply in future.
Most importantly, we need to ensure that we are
able to interconnect our grids effectively in order to
make optimal use of our resources – an area that is
likely to see massive investment in infrastructure
and research ... and important because it is energy
that will serve as the catalyst to economic growth.
There is no doubt that logistics and communications
infrastructure are critical – but the real opportunities
will come from the availability of reliable energy and
how remarkable it would be if a significant portion
could be from sustainable sources.
At the core of this is the need to build up a transmis-
sion network that will allow dynamic growth and
stable interconnection of the grids. The challenge
is enormous.
It is estimated that within the next decade in South
Africa we will need to build more than 10 000 km of
new transmission lines, and spend in excess R160
billion on energy infrastructure. Of that amount,
less than R10 billion is for refurbishment – so we
are speaking of new infrastructure.
These are not small numbers. The fact is that we
need to do this if we are to maintain the industry
we have and grow the economy at anything near
the required levels.
The continent is even more interesting: According
to the Programme for Infrastructure Development
in Africa (PIDA) it is anticipated that the energy
needs of the continent will increase at around 6 %
for the foreseeable future. This requires a growth in
power generation capacity from the current 125 GW
to 700 GW by 2040.
The investment required for this is spectacular – in
the order of tens of billions of dollars per annum,
an investment that is crucial if we are to achieve the
goals that we need to reach.
My sense is that we will.
Ian Jandrell
Pr Eng,
BSc (Eng) GDE PhD,
FSAIEE SMIEEE
COMMENT
1 August ‘15 Electricity+Control