Members of the hydro-power project team with KwaMadiba community members at the
downsteam side of the Thina Falls taken during a site visit
THE Eastern Cape is the location of two recent developments on the alternative energy front which illustrate the enormous differences in the scale of solutions currently being explored as a replacement for coal-fuelled power generation.
The first is a rural hydro-power scheme which promises to change the lives of 39 households who’ve never experienced the benefits of electricity. The second is a multi-billion-rand nuclear build aimed at bolstering the national grid, thereby impacting the lives of every industry, business or home which draws its power from that network.
The KwaMadiba settlement in the rural Eastern Cape has quite literally been “off the grid” ever since families began settling along the picturesque, yet impoverished, banks of the Thina River. They looked set to remain part of the 55% of rural South Africa that will not be connected to the national grid in the foreseeable future.
That was until the commissioning last month of the KwaMadiba small scale hydro-power (SSHP) scheme. Effectively powered by the height difference between the Thina Falls and the Thina River, the SSHP plant receives diverted river water that rotates a turbine. This mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy that provides grid quality electricity to the surrounding community.
The Banki turbine that is the core of the SSHP plant was sourced in Italy and installed by WEC Projects, a leading South African EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor in the water and wastewater industry.
According to the company, local and overseas studies have determined that small hydro-power schemes such as the KwaMadiba facility can serve as stand-alone mini electrical grids providing clean, reliable and affordable energy access in remote areas. Rural electrification has the potential to dramatically improve the standard of living in South Africa, making it a top development priority for the public, private and educational sectors.
The SSHP scheme has minimal impact on the environment as only a very small amount of water is diverted towards the turbine and the use of the water is not for consumption purposes. In addition to the full time job created for one community member, 30 temporary jobs have been created.
Green shoots
“Electricity will enable the green shoots of economic development quite literally as villagers begin irrigating their crops with an electric pump and the local authority is provided with its first reliable revenue stream,” said Marco van Dijk of the University of Pretoria’s Civil Engineering Department.
Van Dijk said the Department of Science and Technology was piloting innovative technology solutions to enhance service delivery through an initiative called the Innovative Partnership for Rural Development (IPRD). This involves the prioritised needs of 23 district municipalities. The DST is the lead agency steering the IPRD initiative.
The DST has contracted two implementation agencies – one of which is the Water Research Commission (WRC) – to test a range of water, sanitation and small hydropower solutions at municipal demonstrations sites.
The WRC, in turn, contracted the Water Division at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Pretoria to conduct research within the IPRD programme on the implementation of small scale hydro-power solutions for rural electrification.
One of the study areas is the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape where it was determined that the Thina Falls within the Thina River system was feasible for a small scale hydro-power development.
A second development concerned a vastly bigger project, with Eskom signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Coega Development Corporation (CDC) to cooperate in the development of the country’s nuclear new build programme.
Local capacity
Under the MOU, Eskom and fellow state-owned enterprise CDC will work together in support of government’s plans to build local capacity through supplier development and localisation around the unfolding infrastructure for the nuclear programme.
“We are gearing ourselves up in preparation for the nuclear new build programme in order to deliver the project within the set timelines and budget,” said Abram Masango, Eskom’s group executive for group capital.
“We want to ensure that South Africans get reliable, decarbonised base load power that will bring sustainable economic growth. In addition, it is critical to lay the foundation for local people to participate meaningfully during the various stages of the project by skilling them for jobs as well as business opportunities. We look forward to a productive working relationship under this memorandum with our counterparts, the CDC.”
Christopher Mashigo, the CDC’s executive manager of business development, said the collaboration with Eskom was in line with corporation’s mandate to drive the creation of an industrial complex to promote integration with industry and increase value-added production, while creating employment and the associated socio-economic benefits in the region in which it is located.
Eskom said it had applied for environmental authorisation for the first nuclear power reactors. The environmental assessment practitioners recommended the Thyspunt site near Jeffrey’s Bay as the preferred site.
Eskom is the designated procurer for the nuclear new build programme.