Ingula pumped storage plant

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Ingula pumped storage plant
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location
Ingula pumped storage plant (South Africa)
Ingula pumped storage plant
Coordinates 28 ° 16 '54 "  S , 29 ° 35' 8"  O Coordinates: 28 ° 16 '54 "  S , 29 ° 35' 8"  O
country South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa
Waters Tugela
f1
power plant
operator Eskom
Start of planning 2004
construction time since 2007
Start of operation 2016 [obsolete]
technology
Bottleneck performance 1332 megawatts
Turbines 4 × pump turbine
Others

The Ingula pumped storage plant , Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme , abbreviated Ingula PSS (formerly Bedford and Bramhoek Dams ) is a hydropower project of the South African power company Eskom .

location

The power plant is located on a steep slope of the Drakensberg mountain range, which stretches along the provincial border between Free State and KwaZulu-Natal , in the catchment area of ​​the Tugela River . Van Reenen's Pass and the towns of Harrismith and Ladysmith are nearby .

This is also where the continental divide runs between the catchment area of ​​the Vaal River with drainage to the Atlantic Ocean and the catchment area of ​​the Tugela River, which drains into the Indian Ocean . The water of the upper reservoir flows into the Wilge River (Vaal catchment) and that of the lower reservoir into the Klip River (Tugela catchment).

planning

The hydropower plant serves to secure the long-term energy demand in South Africa, where a total energy volume of 40,000 megawatts is forecast for 2025.

In the 1980s, Eskom looked for possible locations for new pumped storage plants, with 90 suggestions being considered. When the project phase began in 2002, the project was called the Braamhoek scheme , named after a tributary of the Klip River . In March 2007 the name was changed to Ingula Power Station , which means something like milk cream . The planning work began in 2004 after an environmental impact study and construction began in November 2007. The construction work was originally planned to be completed in 2012 and commissioning in 2013. In the meantime, full operational capability should be achieved in 2016.

description

The system will consist of an upper basin (with the 48 m high Bedford dam ( CFRD dam) as a barrier structure) and a lower basin (with the 37 m high Bramhoek dam (an RCC dam)) Hold millions of cubic meters. They are 4.6 km apart and are connected by tunnels. In the underground powerhouse there are four reversible pump turbines , each with an output of 333 MW (together 1332 MW). The plant is expected to cost 27 billion rand and go into operation in 2015. Both shut-off structures were completed in 2011.

The pumped storage power plant is to be used to provide electrical energy during the times of day with peak demand. At night, excess energy from the grid, which is generated by conventional coal-fired power plants, is used to pump the water into the upper reservoir.

On March 25, 2016, a second power plant block was connected to the long-distance network.

There is a visitor center ( Ingula Visitors Center ), which provides information about the power plant and the surrounding nature reserve. Eskom has partnered with BirdLife South Africa (BLSA) and Middlepunt Wetland Trust (MWT) on nature conservation issues for this project .

See also

swell

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme, South Africa. On www.power-technology.com (English)
  2. ^ Bedford and Bramhoek Dams (Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme) . In Construction World, 2011, p. 22. at www.gibb.co.za ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  3. ↑ a b Eskom: Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme . www.eskom.co.za (English)
  4. ↑ Ingula Update, Eskom, November 2009 , accessed August 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Voith Ingula, South Africa, accessed on September 16, 2015.
  6. ^ Cavern a Powerhouse for Electricity, accessed August 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ ESI Africa. Africas Power Journal: S.Africa: Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme's second unit synchronized . News from April 1, 2016 on www.esi-africa.com (English)

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