The first unit of Ingula is going into commercial operation, supplying 333MW of power to the national grid during peak times.
The energy utility’s group capital division handed over Ingula’s first unit (unit 4) to its generation division for commercial operation at 6pm on Friday, 10 June, it said in a statement on Monday.
“It is the first of four units to commercially support the national grid ahead of schedule”.
All four of Ingula’s units are scheduled for commercial operation in 2017. Unit 4 was synchronised to the national grid in March and has been undergoing optimisation while supporting the grid.
Ingula is a peaking hydro power station (meaning it can supply electricity during times of peak demand), which consists of an upper and a lower dam or reservoir and a powerhouse located 116 storeys underground in two excavated underground caverns.
The R25bn project is situated between Ladysmith and Harrismith in the Little Drakensberg and will be able to provide an additional 333 MW capacity once it is fully operational.
“This moment in time is the culmination of many years and countless hours of work, and [we are] immensely proud and conscious of the significance of the Ingula team’s achievement,” said Eskom group executive for group capital, Abram Masango.
“Through this effort, Eskom’s new build programme is on track to deliver the much-need capacity that South Africans require to grow the economy to ensure a better life for all.”
On completion of all four units, Ingula will be part of Eskom’s peaking fleet of power stations. It will be Africa’s newest and largest pumped storage scheme, and the 19th largest in the world.
Ingula’s four units are located 350m underground in the world’s largest machine hall in mud-rock. To turn the more than 500t rotating mass of the generator rotor and turbine, water is released from Ingula’s upper dam, Bedford Dam, situated 460m higher and 2km away.
Water flows at high speeds down to the turbines at around 60km/hour with enough water passing through each turbine to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in six seconds. Rotating at 428 revolutions per minute, each unit will produce 333MW, a total for the station of 1,3GW.
Ingula unit 3 is currently under repair, based on an incident experienced during the optimisation process post synchronisation. This unit was synchronised to the grid on 6 March and supported the grid until 6 April when the incident occurred.
Ingula unit 2 was synchronised to the grid on 22 May and is under optimisation, while Ingula unit 1 is still under construction.
