Page 9 - Energize June 2021

NEWS

MAKING THE CONNECTION: Eswatini’s big push towards a

RENEWABLE ENERGY WITH sustainable energy future to

SWITCHGEAR boost the economy

rid scale solar power plants are good for the environment, he Kingdom of
and good for business. Not only do they displace the Eswatini adds two
Ggeneration demand for fossil fuels, but once they’re Tmore solar PV plants
built, it costs virtually nothing to generate revenue. As the cost of to its sustainable energy
installations come down, so too do the payback periods, and so portfolio as the Lavumisa
globally we see a proliferation of these installations. 10 MW solar PV plant nears
While this commercial incentive is driving investment in grid scale completion. Eswatini has
solar installations their integration to the distribution grid provides made impressive strides
challenges to distribution network service providers (DNSPs). in its rollout of sustainable
Unlike the energy that DNSPs buy from High Voltage energy projects, while
Transmission providers (TNSPs), energy that comes from solar becoming increasingly less
power plants and other distributed generation may have significant dependent on neighbouring
power quality issues. Voltage fluctuations and harmonics from Mozambique and South
the intermittent and power electronic driven distributed energy Africa for electricity.
sources abound, leaving utility engineers to solve these problems. Eswatini Energy Peter Bhembe
The confounding factor is that power quality issues are not readily Regulatory Authority
visible. Unless you can measure and record the information, (ESERA) recently issued an intention to award three 15 MW solar PV
symptoms tend to be early failure of expensive equipment like projects to the Globeleq/Sturdee Energy Southern Africa consortium and
transformers – hardly a cost-effective sacrificial test for the presence ACED after a bidding process which began in 2019.
of harmonics. “The Lavumisa 10MW solar plant is at completion stage. This is the
In the past, detecting power quality issues necessitated buying first solar PV plant to be owned and operated by the Eswatini Electricity
expensive power quality equipment. Additional sensor instruments, Company (EEC) and the first utility-scale solar PV plant in the country,”
such as high bandwidth CTs and PTs, would need to be installed, and says Eswatini’s Natural Resources and Energy Minister, Peter Bhembe.
connected to a power quality analysis device, simply to understand The minister further highlighted the importance of renewable energy
the problem. However, today this is no longer necessary. in Africa and the advantages it has for the continent and its people.
Devices such as NOJA Power’s OSM Recloser with RC20 control “Africa must decide how it wants to feed, educate, provide healthcare
provide all the Power Quality measurement information necessary to and improve the welfare of its children by 2030, and beyond. Renewable
understand distributed generation. energy is an enabler for all of this. This decision must not remain a
Reclosers are commonly used as the connection switchgear political one, but one that is translated into enabling frameworks,
for solar farms because they integrate all the sensors, protection project delivery and the productive use of energy, with the support of
systems and control necessary to remotely manage the installation. development agencies and partner countries.”
Until recently, power quality remained the outstanding item, The investment to date in the Lavumisa project amounts to
although now with the RC20, the device can measure up to the E255-million, and the power plant will generate about 13,75 MW to
63rd harmonic. This allows a single device to address the entire deliver a guaranteed capacity of 10 MW at the point of connection,
specification of renewable energy integration. with an expected yearly yield of around 22 GWh. In addition to the
The RC20 logs many PQ metrics, including voltage sags and economic benefits, the project also created 170 jobs. It is anticipated
swells alongside harmonics. This comprehensive data is stored in that additional job opportunities will exist for maintenance of the solar
IEEE PQDIF format, the industry standard, to facilitate the use of this panels which span over 35 hectares and to control the vegetation in
information in third party analysis and design tools. the area.
NOJA Power’s OSM Recloser with RC20 control is available in The other three renewable energy projects currently underway
both a pole mount and ground mount configuration. The former include the generation of a further 40 MW of solar power, and a 40 MW
is the most cost effective, while the latter provides options for biomass power plant. ESERA procured Independent Power Producers
additional integrated equipment, such as revenue metering or (IPPs) to take on these projects. The Kingdom of Eswatini is edging
earth switches. Both formats have been extensively deployed for closer to its aspirations of being able to produce an adequate supply of
renewable energy connection. electricity for the Kingdom and to sell excess generation to neighbouring
NOJA Power’s OSM Reclosers are installed in 104 countries countries in the future, thereby boosting the country’s revenue while
worldwide today. As the world transitions to a sustainable growing its energy sector.
and reliable energy future, the OSM Recloser with RC20 is an Eswatini’s diversified approach to electricity generation means the
environmentally friendly, fully integrated solution supporting country will be less dependent on importing power and will focus more
the journey. on locally generated and sustainable power options. The integration of
sustainable energy projects opens the economy to growth opportunities
Contact Jeremy Wood, RWW Engineering, Tel 011 433-8003, and increased investment as well as employment opportunities and most
jwood@rww.co.za significantly, providing access to electricity to Eswatini citizens.

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