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Mechanical Technology — March 2016
9
⎪
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.
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
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.
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