Opportunity Issue 104

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Optimising energy storage
and thermal balancing
The Wärtsilä Energy team believe that there is a case for South Africa to re-evaluate its
energy consumption and turn to alternative solutions for its daily usage.
South Africa, as an energy-intensive economy, is a
major contributor to greenhouse carbon emissions,
sourcing an estimated 77% of electricity from coal.
However, together with many other countries
across the world, South Africa is committed to
making the necessary transitions to reach net-zero carbon
emissions by 2050. With increasing power outages and the
ongoing threat of loadshedding, the need for sustainable
energy production in the country is becoming more apparent.
This presents an opportunity for South Africa to re-evaluate
energy consumption and turn to alternative solutions for its
daily usage.
Challenges in the energy sector
The latest COP26 finance arrangement, which is assisting South
Africa to transition to renewable energy sources, has gained large
momentum and was vigorously discussed by many participants
at COP27. Of all the energy sources, solar is the most viable and
the most sought-after. However, even in the hottest regions,
the panels can only produce electricity for a maximum of 12
hours a day, therefore only converting a small percentage of
available power into usable energy. This is also the case with
wind turbines. The wind doesn’t always blow hard enough, and
sometimes doesn’t blow at all, to produce the energy needed.
Energy use and preservation is rife with challenges and there is a
need for improvements.
This is where thermal balancing becomes beneficial, as it can store
excess energy from renewable sources. Thermal systems can assist in
creating balance for energy demand and supply, reducing peak demand
and consumption by storing energy for when it is most needed and
increasing its efficiency and reliability. Thus, the conversion and storage
of renewable energy in the form of thermal energy can also aid in the
acceleration of renewables in the energy mix.
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which coordinates the national
drive for generation expansion and demand-side intervention
programmes, supports a diverse energy mix, aiming to develop an
effective balance of energy supply and demand. However, guaranteeing
that people get power when and where needed is not as simple as it
sounds. South Africa’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate,
and with the upsurge of industrialisation in a developing nation, the
need for a continuous supply of energy is skyrocketing. The increase is
due to mounting energy use in households – by heating and cooling
systems for example – and in commercial businesses, like warehousing.
Energy storage: maintaining supply and demand
So, how do we keep the lights on in South Africa with an energy mix
where we have an increasingly higher share, and is energy storage a
solution? To avoid excess energy from being left unused in off-peak
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