Specialist alloys and valve supplier Energy Engineered Products reports it has completed its latest contract for State-owned power utility Eskom’s Kusile power station project, in Mpumalanga.

The company completed the supply of products, valued at about R2-million, which included a range of valves in stainless steel and rare specialist alloys, in January.

The R118-billion Kusile power station project will comprise six units, each rated at an estimated 800 MW installed capacity for a total capacity of 4 800 MW. It will be the first station in South Africa to install flue-gas desulphurisation – a technology used to remove oxides of sulphur, such as sulphur dioxide, from exhaust flue gases in power plants that burn coal or oil.

The valves, which are predominantly used in water treatment applications of the power plant, are constructed from alloys capable of handling demanding corrosive environments, Energy Engineered Products director Graham Whitty tells Engineering News.

Other Projects

Further, Energy Engineered Products’ associate company Multi Alloys also supplied a range of high-performance alloy, stainless steel valves, pipes, fittings and flanges for Eskom’s R105-billion Medupi power station project, near Lephalale, in Limpopo.

“Multi Alloys supplied more than 200 valves, including ball, check, gate, globe, butterfly and high-pressure valves and strainers, as well as several hundred metres of small- to medium-bore piping, with flanges and fittings,” Whitty says.

Medupi is the first dry-cooled, baseload coal-fired power generating plant to be built in South Africa in 20 years. The plant, which also comprises six 800 MW units, with a 4 800 MW installed capacity, will be the fourth-largest coal plant in the southern hemisphere.

Other projects for Eskom subcontractors included Energy Engineered Products’ supply of large diameter stainless steel piping to the Ingula pumped-storage scheme, which is loc- ated in the Little Drakensberg mountain range, on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, last year.

Nevertheless, Whitty says, while many of the company’s products that were supplied to Eskom’s new build projects are now considered as original equipment, he expects future orders, particularly for valve products, for supply and resupply on maintenance work for these projects.

Further, he points out that, as the other units at Medupi and Kusile are in various stages of completion and will require more components in future, the company is hopeful for significant business from these two projects.

Meanwhile, Whitty notes that the com- pany, which has supplied the power utility for more than ten years, “is actively engaging with Eskom on possible contracts regarding some of the refurbishment works that need high corrosion resistant alloys supplied to nuclear standards, for its Koeberg nuclear power station, in the Western Cape”.

In addition, Whitty highlights government’s drive to establish the preparedness of the South African supply chain in meeting specific nuclear standards for supplying products for a possible new nuclear build programme.

Believing that there are currently few distri- butors and stockists of high performance alloy materials in South Africa, “that have geared themselves towards the nuclear industry”, Whitty claims most stockists and distributors would have supplied or stocked products only on an ad hoc basis.

“Further, only a few established stockists and distributors of nuclear material imported the required products, as the nuclear industry has not been of a significant size to justify regular imports of specialist products,” he says.

However, Whitty notes that the com- pany works closely with and has engaged in agreements with several large, international manufacturers of specialised materials, who are nuclear certified, adding that these global suppliers can provide support to the company on a more significant scale, “should the nuclear industry in South Africa ramp up”.

Further, the company anticipates the power generation sector in South Africa to provide a positive outlook for business growth, Whitty says, highlighting the potential for business from possible future retrofit projects and contracts for Eskom’s existing fleet of coal-fired power stations.