Ambitious on-site power plan for UK’s biggest turkey farmer
COSPP – Bernard Matthews turkey farms has launched a programme to become 100 per cent green energy self-sufficient by 2016.
The programme is delivering nine large on-site wind turbines, two solar farms covering 90 acres, the UK’s largest single biomass project with 229 155-199kw boilers, an anaerobic digestion plant, a £3.6m investment in energy efficient technologies in its factories and another 2 MW biomass plant for a feed mill. It is also developing a second 500m³/hour anaerobic plant to supply gas to the national grid.
The Guardian reports that the UK’s largest turkey farmer has built biomass boilers to heat its 248 sheds.
Solar energy ‘could power all Scottish electricity supplies’
BBC News – About 35,000 homes and 600 business premises in Scotland have solar panels.
Data from WeatherEnergy showed that sunshine in Edinburgh in April generated more electricity than is used in an average home – a total of 113%.
In Aberdeen the figure was 111%, 106% in Glasgow and 104% in Inverness.
For homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine in the cities to cover average usage.
Why Elon Musk might just change the world
Tech Central – Elon Musk’s keynote address last week, at which he took the wraps off a much-anticipated battery technology, was fascinating to watch.
Firstly, here was a South African-born entrepreneur and inventor — his accent still giving away his heritage, despite 27 years living in Canada and the US — standing on a stage and attracting the interest of millions around the world.
The Pretoria-educated Musk, 43, who left South Africa in 1988, when he was 17, is now regularly compared to great inventors like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Some have called him the next Steve Jobs.
Joburg unveils load limiting initiative
SA News – The City of Johannesburg through its partnership with City Power has unveiled a new load-limiting initiative which will help to curtail household consumption and reduce the potential of load-shedding.
Briefing reporters at Aspen Hills Nature Estate on Tuesday, Johannesburg Executive Mayor Parks Tau described the initiative as a flagship for the city.
Through load limiting, City Power will have the ability to inform residents using smart meters of a need to reduce the load on the grid by sending smses.
Inspectors Harness the Power of Probability
ASME – Most people take the safe operation of power plants for granted, and with good reason.
Behind every power plant are managers who know how likely it is that equipment will fail and what might happen if it did. By closely monitoring the big-risk areas and staying alert to signs of impending equipment failure, they ensure their plant will continue to deliver the electricity, fuel, and steam that light and shape our world.
Key to their success is risk-based inspection (RBI), which uses failure probabilities to determine how often to inspect each power plant component. It makes more effective use of resources, plants operate safely, and companies save money.
It’s no wonder then that RBI has been used with great success around the globe.
EDF Energy delays Hinkley Point nuclear decision
The Guardian – The timetable surrounding the construction of Britain’s first new atomic reactors in almost 30 years has once again been blown off course, its developer, EDF Energy, has admitted. The setback came as the French-owned generator and supply company reported a 25% slump in operating profits for 2014 to £863m, which it blamed on challenging market conditions.
EDF had originally promised to tie up a new deal with financial backers and then take a final investment decision on the proposed new plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset by the middle of last year. This date was later revised to March 2015.
But in a new statement, the largely state-owned energy group said a final investment decision might only be possible in a matter of months, and it had still not finalised talks with Chinese financial backers.
What exactly is Eskom asking from Nersa?
Moneyweb – Re-opener of MYPD3 tariff determination may be on the cards.
The national energy regulator (Nersa) expects to know by the end of the week whether Eskom wants a total review of Nersa’s earlier decision to grant Eskom an 8% annual tariff increase for the five years from 2013/14 to 2017/18 (MYPD3).
Eskom at the time applied for an annual increase of 16% and while it chose not to take the decision on review it has blamed the regulator ever since for its financial woes and a revenue shortfall of R225 billion.
Keep South Africa’s Lights On With Renewable Energy
All Africa – After an explosive start to his State of the Nation Address last week, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma turned to nuclear, coal, fracking and offshore drilling projects – but what about the country’s free sunshine, wind and tides?
Last Thursday night in Cape Town’s Parliament hall, South Africa’s newest and cheekiest political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), fought gamely but lost their two-dozen seats for the evening. They were expelled during the State of the Nation speech when making what they termed a ‘point of order’: asking whether President Jacob Zuma would ‘pay back the money’ (about $20 million) that the state illegitimately spent on upgrading his rural mansion. As police ushered them out with extreme force, seven were hospitalised, one with a broken jaw.
Alternatives to drive SA’s energy mix for optimum development
Business Report – We are driven by desperation to consider alternatives for sustainable energy sources rather than being proactive and acting strategically to optimise outcomes, writes Nkosinathi Solomon.
Johannesburg – The raging debate over the suitability of nuclear energy is typical of South Africa’s flawed approach to energy policy. We are driven by desperation to consider alternatives rather than being proactive and acting strategically to optimise outcomes.
The Eskom debacle has forced the government to consider other options such as gas in addition to nuclear – just like the sale of state assets is driven by the need to bail out Eskom rather than economic policy. Invariably, we ask the wrong questions and then proceed to provide the most precise answers to them.
