Cut electricity consumption with automation - Watt Now Magazine

500 MW wind-power
generating plant approved
WWatt Energy
Hong Kong Energy is to build and operate a 500 MW wind
power project at a cost of about HK$540-million. It will be
funded by the company’s internal revenues and bank loans.
The project has been approved by the Development and
Reform Commission of Siziwang Qi.
The company will purchase 33 wind turbines and turbine towers at a
total cost of HK$393-million. It is the first major wind power contract
in Hong Kong although several other projects are awaiting approval.
Hong Kong has not suffered the extreme power shortages that have faced
mainland China over the last few years.
Hong Kong Energy was established in May this year and the company’s
chief executive Eric Oei says that it is gratifying to see that new projects
can be approved so quickly and so efficiently. The company plans to
introduce other renewable energy projects to ensure that Hong Kong has
suffcient available electricity to keep the region globally competitive.
China is investing heavily in nuclear power stations to augment the
existing mainly coal-fired generating plants that provide enormous
quantities of electricity in an attempt to keep pace with the rapid economic
growth that has consistently been above ten percent a year for the last few
years.
Private sector urged to generate power
South Africa has been urged to encourage
private sector participation
in the electricity sector by the chief
executive of Business Unity South
Africa, Jerry Vilakazi, who says the government
must create an environment that is “conducive
to investment”.
Eskom is currently responsible for generating
95 percent of all electricity used in South
Africa and private companies have been reluctant
to invest in the energy sector because the
low prices charged per unit of electrical power
make it difficult to justify the enormous investments
required to generate power.
The government has been accused of
deliberately keeping electricity prices artificially
low to benefit the poorer people. Vilakazi points
out that the rationing of power by Eskom earlier
this year resulted in a 22 percent decrease in
mining production alone. He says the economic
consequences of a shortage of power are
debilitating for industrial manufacturers and
for commercial operations in South Africa
which have lost millions in turnover because of
the power cuts.
In a separate development, deputy president
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka confirmed that
government would be forced to re-think its
growth targets and re-evaluate its povertyalleviation
goals if the power crisis is not
resolved.
She says that the country’s continued
economic growth has placed further strains on
the supply of power making it more difficult for
Eskom to meet the demand among industrial
users who have been asked to cut electricity
consumption by at least ten percent.
The electricity problems facing South Africa
are excerbated by the maintenance backlog in
the distribution network which needs about
R25-billion just to compe with the essential
repairs according to Amos Masondo, chairman
of the South African Local Government
Association.
He says the main challenge is the restoration
of the distribution networks to an “acceptable
level” will be a mammoth task as very little
money has been allocated to maintaining the
distribution infrastructure.
July 2008
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