- Eskom has begun its plan to roll out microgrid infrastructure across South Africa.
- This technology can help remote communities access renewable electricity completely independent from Eskom’s power grid.
- Eskom says that it will build 100 more microgrids in other regions of the country, which will be able to supply and maintain electricity without fear of loadshedding.
South African power utility Eskom says it has started rolling out microgrids to remote areas in order to supply power to communities that conventional electrical infrastructure cannot reach.
It has already established two microgrids in Lynedoch in the Western Cape and Ficksburg in the Free State, and now it has built a new microgrid in the Northern Cape.
According to SA News, this latest microgrid was installed in Swartkopdam, a small community about 150km from Upington, where around 39 households did not have access to electricity due to the extreme remoteness of the area.
Microgrid technology is a system in which individuals can generate and store electricity using various means, including solar, wind and through fossil fuels. This electricity is kept in batteries, supplies a small area and does not require connection to larger grids to keep functioning.
Effectively, the small community at Swartkopdam will now be able to supply and maintain its own electricity.
“The electricity networks around the area are constrained and practically impossible to extend and connect the area,” explained Eskom, deciding to install a microgrid in the area because connecting the town to the country’s main energy grid would be too costly.
“A feasible conventional solution was to connect Swartkopdam by building a 200km 132kV line from Gordonia substation and establishing Noenieput substation at Noenieput, which was estimated to cost R250 million,” the utility adds.
Instead, Eskom leveraged technologies and innovations, including battery storage capabilities, developed by its research, testing and development team.
“The deployment of the microgrids at Swartkopdam serves as a proof of concept in installing microgrids in remote areas which are difficult to reach or expensive to electrify through the conventional means of electrification.”
Eskom says it has plans in place to roll out another 100 microgrids to communities across South Africa by the end of March 2024. This will be in effort to ensure that all South Africans have access to electricity.
“We will continue to close the gap of energy poverty by giving everyone a life-changing experience of having electricity,” says Monde Bala, Eskom’s Distribution Group executive.
Another benefit of microgrids is that, due to their independent nature, the communities they serve will not have to deal with loadshedding. South Africa is under Stage 3 and Stage 4 loadshedding.
