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Mechanical Technology — March 2015
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Special report
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Above:
ABB was responsible for the installation of an
energy efficiency and building management system for
the DEA head office building in Pretoria, South Africa,
which is targeting a six star Green Star rating.
Far left:
New outdoor HVDC valves for the Apollo Upgrade
of the Cahora Bassa HVDC link.
Left:
An ABB-installed PV system on the roof of the
new DEA building. Viljoen sees its Microgrid technology
being used to help very large buildings and small villages
become self-sufficient in terms of electricity.
and being specified by more and more mu-
nicipalities and industrial clients,” Viljoen
says, adding that this is also “a step in
the right direction towards smart grids”.
Turning attention back to overcoming
Eskom’s current difficulties, he is confi-
dent that Medupi’s Unit 6 will be brought
fully online during 2015, “probably by
June”. “And once the first unit is success-
fully proven, confidence will rise and the
other units will follow relatively quickly
and successfully. Together, Medupi and
Kusile will add some 9 600 MW of
generation to the grid, which should
take Eskom into an area where thorough
maintenance of existing power stations is
again possible,” he predicts.
“But this is not the ultimate solution.
If South Africa grows as it ought to, then
power shortages are sure to hit us again.
People are so focused on resolving the
current crisis that we are in danger of
forgetting about the long-term future,”
he warns.
Discussing the long-term possibility
of a line coming into South Africa from
hydro-electric projects such as Grand
Inga in the DRC, Viljoen cites the historic
success of the Cahora Bassa transmis-
sion line from Mozambique. ABB is
busy upgrading the HVDC substation in
Tsonga, Mozambique, a converter station
on the Cahora Bassa HVDC transmis-
sion line. “Outside of war and flooding
incidents, the Cahora Bassa line has
been a fairly reliable source of power to
South Africa, and I see no reason why
a link from the DRC should be any less
reliable,” he says.
Proposed as a NEPAD project for
regional integration, a transmission line
from the DRC is planned to bring power
into South Africa from the Grand Inga
project, which, ultimately, could gener-
ate 40 000 MW from the Congo river,
which drops 96 m over the Inga falls.
“With political stability in the region, the
political will to make this project happen
is emerging. It’s sounding very positive
and if it does happen in the long term,
the additional capacity could result in
significant improvements in power stabil-
ity across the region,” Viljoen believes.
Another 2014 highlight for ABB
was the installation of a full building
management system including PV on
the roof of the new DEA building, which
is targeting a six Star Green rating. “The
key reason for installing PV on rooftops
is to make sure that the building is as
energy efficient as it can possibly be.
These systems do not put electricity
into the grid. Instead, they reduce peak
and net draw off the grid. No storage is
involved in this case, so the idea is to
use the energy while the sun is shining,”
Viljoen explains.
Microgrids are identified as one of
ABB’s global 1 000-day programmes in
the company’s 2014 ‘Next level strategy’
report, Viljoen sees such technology be-
ing used where villages and very large
buildings can be made self-sufficient in
terms of electricity. “We expect to see
strong growth of self-contained systems
across Africa. Microgrid solutions are
about mixing efficiency and management
and control system technologies with PV
panels, generators and battery storage to
best meet the electrical energy needs of
a defined area or business,” he explains,
adding that ABB has started to look at
the business case for making its own
Longmeadow facility into a microgrid.
“While still active in the renewable
energy sector, we have refocused during
2014 on the things we are best at, such
as the electrical balance of plant (eBoP)
and the grid connection side. We see
ourselves as a supplier to EPC companies
rather than a developer in our own right,”
he adds. “For the Kathu PV plant in the
Northern Cape, for example, we suc-
cessfully supplied and installed all of the
electrical and control systems equipment.
He concludes: “As a power and auto-
mation service provider, South and south-
ern Africa are, by far, the best places
in the world to be. I would choose my
current position above any ABB posting
anywhere else in the world,” says Viljoen.
“The growth potential and opportunities
for power generation, transmission, dis-
tribution, rail, gas, municipal and mining
infrastructure make for a very positive
outlook.”
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