Page 11 - AfrElec Week 34

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NEWS IN BRIEF
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one LM6000PC gas turbines at the Songas Ubungo Power Plant in Dar es Salaam. ese technology upgrades will increase
the power plant’s e ciency and reliability, enabling Songas to maintain the plant in the most economical way possible.
“We are very pleased with GE’s execution because it was completed safely and ahead of schedule, with great commitment and consistency across the four LM6000 units,” said Nigel Whittaker, managing director, Songas Ltd.
GE’s upgrade of the four LM6000PA gas turbines to LM6000PC signi cantly improves the current LM6000 eet.
“Over the past 15 years, Songas and GE have collaborated on the Ubungo power plant, and we’re excited to help enhance operations, increase capacity, and deliver the principles of safety rst, quality foremost and operational excellence,” said Elisee Sezan, CEO for GE’s Gas Power business in sub-Saharan Africa.
e Ubungo power plant provides more than 20 percent of the grid connected power in Tanzania. It includes four GE LM6000 gas turbines, which have been operational since 2004.
In 2017, GE signed a multiyear agreement to upgrade gas turbines at the Songas Ubungo power plant in Tanzania.
GE’s LM6000-PF dual fuel gas turbines power the 150-MW Kinyerezi power plant, which also has a multiyear agreement with GE for the long-term, reliable operation of its power plant.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
COAL-FIRED GENERATION
Eskom could sell coal-fired plants
Eskom could sell its coal- red power stations, possibly through a series of auctions, according to a policy paper published by
the nance ministry on Tuesday for public comment, Reuters reported.
e National Treasury, in its policy paper, said that if Eskom were to sell its coal- red power stations through auctions, it could generate ZAR450bn ($30bn), assuming cost- re ective tari s.
“Eskom would sell the power station itself, all its power station-speci c obligations, together with a power purchase agreement (PPA) at a prede ned power station-speci c tari ,” the policy paper said.
Restructuring Eskom’s business model could limit the scal and economic risk that Eskom poses, the paper said. Eskom has ZAR440bn ($29bn)of debt, according to latest
gures and a sale of its power stations could help it repay debt.
Eskom supplies more than 90% of the power in Africa’s most advanced economy but is dependent on government bailouts. It is deep in crisis as its electricity sales are on the decline and its debt-service costs have soared.
South Africa endured some of the worst blackouts in several years earlier this year because of faults at some of Eskom’s heavily polluting coal power stations, several of which are reaching the end of their commercial lives.
President Cyril Ramaphosa promised this year to split Eskom into di erent units for generation, distribution and transmission, as part of steps to make it more e cient.
Eskom begins generation at Medupi’s last unit
South Africa’s state power rm Eskom said it had produced power and synchronised its last remaining unit at its Medupi power station to the grid, Reuters reported.
Eskom said it produced 190 MW at Medupi’s unit 1 for the rst time, making it the last of the six units to be synchronised to the national grid.
“Once Unit 1 has attained full power, it will be a step closer to reach commercial operational which occurs within six to nine months a er rst synchronisation,” Eskom said in a statement. It added that the next step would be testing and optimisation of unit 1 in order to generate full power of 800MW.
To supplement its ageing power plants, Eskom is developing the Kusile and Medupi projects, but both are years behind schedule and tens of billions of rand over budget.
RENEWABLES
Total opens reaches solar landmark in Morocco
Total has inaugurated its thousandth solar- powered service station. e roo op solar systems at the Total Palmeraie retail outlet in Marrakesh, Morocco, are a milestone in the company’s programme to solarize certain of its service stations worldwide, begun in late 2016.
Total’s goal is to solarize 5,000 stations
in 57 countries. Work will accelerate in the coming months to reach around 1,000 stations per year. More than a third of TOTAL retail network stations worldwide will be equipped with high-e ciency SunPower solar panels.
Total is also solarizing production sites, such as plants and re neries, and o ce buildings.
A number of projects to equip various plants or o ce buildings with solar panels have been identi ed, adding up to a nominal power of more than 200 MW-peak, equivalent to the electricity demand of a city of 200,000 people.
“Total service stations around the world are designed as one-stop shops o ering customers tailor-made services that are easy to access and use,” said Momar Nguer, President of Total Marketing & Services and member of Total’s Executive Committee.
“ e service stations equipped with solar panels are more independent of the grid and showcase our know-how and expertise in renewable energies. Consistent with Total’s ambition to become the responsible energy major, the program will reduce our retail network’s carbon emissions by more than 50,000 tonnes per year.”
TOTAL
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