South Africa’s biggest electricity supplier, Eskom, can supply the country with 41 000MW of power. National demand is currently around 37 000MW, so the reserve margin is very small at about 10%.
Some economists calculate that South Africa’s power needs will double by 2030 so the need for new power stations is obvious. What was not so obvious when Eskom went to the World Bank and the international markets to look for funding for new power stations, was why these stations had to be coal-fired.
Local and international commentators asked whether other, less polluting forms of energy would not be better options. What won the argument in the end was the urgent nature of South Africa’s need for power if the economy is to keep on a growth path (not forgetting the debilitating power outages of 2008) and the fact that South Africa still has good amounts of coal.
This is the context for the construction of the Medupi Power Station in the coalrich Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province, which will start supplying power to the national grid by the end of 2012.
National government is working on an integrated policy plan to guide future investment in the energy sector, with the express intention of diversifying types of energy (to include wind and solar, for example) and to include independent power producers (IPPs). In the meantime, Eskom is continuing with its scaled-down build programme. The national utility announced in 2009, that five capital projects valued at about R54-billion were to be postponed, but Medupi is proceeding at full steam.
At full capacity, Medupi will supply 4 788MW and is expected to cost in the region of R120-billion by the time it is finished. The contract for the steam generators alone (with Hitachi Power) is worth R38-billion and construction company Murray & Roberts estimates that it will be investing about R700-million into the local economy in the course of working on the joint-venture operation to build the power station.
Murray & Roberts is the lead fi rm in a joint venture with Concor and Grinaker-LTA. In May 2010, the fi rst two unit-transformers, weighing 80 tons each, were delivered to the site of what will become the world’s fourthlargest power station. Constructed by Siemens in Germany, the complex triple-core unit-transformers were delivered by road from the Port of Richards Bay.
The same month saw the completion of the South chimney shell. At 213 metres, the chimney is the tallest structure on the site.The planned operational life of the plant is 50 years. Extending over 883ha, the area was previously used for cattle and game and grazing.
Medupi is the fi rst coal-fi red power plant to be built in South Africa in 20 years. The total number of jobs created through the project is expected to peak at around 8 000 to 9 500 through Eskom’s investment and 1 500 through new jobs created at Exxaro’s nearby coal mine.
The new station will comprise direct drycooled units such as those already in use at the nearby Matimba Power Station. The dry-cool design requires less water than other designs, an important consideration in the dry north-west.
The inclusion in the design of a super-critical plant, which is able to operate at higher temperatures and pressures than earlier generation boilers, is an important innovation. These boilers are thus able to operate more efficiently, and this will have an impact on the amount of resources such as coal and water that the plant uses in its long lifespan. The eff ect on the environment will thus be lessened.
Lephalale
Eskom reports that the project will contribute 0.34% to South Africa’s gross domestic product. In the case of the town of Lephalale, the project is set to increase the GDP by 95%. Already townships have been laid out and an accommodation project constructed at Marapong. The impact on the construction sector in the district will be very considerable in the short term.
In the longer term, every aspect of the economy of the north-west sector of the Waterberg district will be boosted: the number of children in schools; retail volumes; services supplied to the increased population; and many more.
Eskom has engaged the local community by joining the Lephalale Development Forum and has become involved in a number of projects: local housing schemes; the establishment of a recruitment centre in the town’s central business district; the upgrading of services by increasing the sewage plant’s capacity; and an HIV and Aids project.
Property developments are taking place in response to the infl ux of investment in the area. Ledibeng Eco-Estate, a Cranbrook Property project within the Lephalale municipal area, will have 2 362 stands given over to a combination of residential and business use.
