Eskom on Friday put out requests for proposals for cogeneration projects as part of its plan to bolster faltering electricity supplies.
Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger explained that ”cogeneration” is when industrialists sell waste by-products that can be used to generate electricity.
Wood shavings and chippings from a paper mill could be burned to generate electricity, or the gas that is seen as orange flares out of chimneys at steel mills and petro-chemical companies could be used to generate electricity.
Last year the company issued requests for interest, hoping to secure 900MW of electricity this way, and indications were that it could receive 5 000MW.
”It was an encouraging response,” said Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger.
”This is the stage of starting to talk final numbers and we will evaluate and place the contracts,” said Etzinger.
”For every megawatt generated by such a scheme, it is one more megawatt on our national system, which will help tremendously.”
The set-up costs of the projects are relatively expensive, but the fuel is free because it is waste so these proposals are ”economically attractive”, he said.
According to an advertisement placed by Eskom in Business Day, it would be limited to companies that would be in operation by June 2012 and the maximum contract would be for 10 years.
Projects between 5MW and 1 000MW would be eligible and were open to plants in South Africa.
In January the country experienced widespread power cuts as Eskom, unable to keep up with power demand, embarked on load shedding, a method of rotating available power to different areas.
The shortage of available power was due to planned maintenance and problems at working power stations, as well as an ageing power infrastructure.
Mines have been forced to cut back their power use by 10% and alarm bells have sounded on the overall impact on the economy if power cuts continue. — Sapa