The recent announcement by government that “own generation of power” without the requirement for a license had been increased from 1 MW to 100 MW was well received by industry as a whole. Foundry and engineering company Thos Begbie is looking into the viability of incorporating solar power as the back-up power supply to the existing 6 MW available from the Middelburg distribution grid.

“State-owned power utility Eskom has announced massive increases to the end-users of their 40 000 MW available on the national grid. The feasibility includes cost of maintenance in addition to the initial capital cost. The use of solar panels in South Africa is relatively new and much has yet to be learned from the mistakes being experienced globally,” says Thos Begbie group executive Edwin Dreyer.

He says that the future is still unclear regarding Eskom’s attitude to private producers. It is on the cards that the company could charge private producers a fee per kilowatt-hour that is produced.

Considering the many smelters, and other power-using industries, that have left South Africa owing to the instability of Eskom’s supply, Dreyer says it will benefit the country to take as many users as possible off the grid. This would aid investors to again consider returning to South Africa and also enhance the confidence of local enterprises considering expanding into new technology.

“Undoubtedly, the lack of a reliable energy supply detracts from local investor confidence which would change considerably when own power can be relied upon. Additionally, the local manufacture of components and systems for solar and other renewable energy will create internal revenue and improve employment opportunities,” says Dreyer.

He says that, while still at the feasibility phase, Thos Begbie may commit to a capital investment of R4-million. “The pay-back will take many years but the benefits of having cheaper and more reliable electricity supply will give us the confidence of not having production delays.”

Owing to the enormous technical issues that must be solved when placing the solar panels on roofs which are 15 m high, the final costs of installation have yet to be completed. Should the final result be viable, the company intends to begin installation early in 2022. Installation should take four months.

Conversion to ‘green’ energy is an inevitability and billions in finances are being invested globally on the development of solar and wind power generation. The downside of using solar energy is that during the absence of sunlight during the night hours, there is no availability of electricity. A battery energy storage system has to be part of the installation.

One of the largest battery energy storage systems currently in use is the 100 MW/129 MWh lithium-ion battery in South Australia. The cycle lifetime of these battery systems is an unknown as they have a limited number of recharge cycles before degradation occurs, resulting in the battery needing replacement.

Despite the published international drive to convert to renewable energy, less than 15% of the world’s power requirements comes from renewable energy sources.

“Another local challenge for South Africa is that at least 500 years of coal reserves are viably available and 90% of our electricity is from coal-fired power stations. Even with the best will and assistance from international benefactors, South Africa will have to continue to use coal for the next 15 to 25 years, at the least,” Dreyer concludes.