Adding gas-to-power generation to the South African energy mix will be a major driver of economic prosperity, adding billions of Rands to GDP and thousands of new jobs, says Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of African engineering giant Siemens.
Generating clean and efficient power from gas will boost SA’s power-generating capacity, improve grid stability and increase revenue through energy exports to other African countries.
“Gas-to-power is a globally proven energy generating technology that presents new and exciting opportunities for SA. It holds the potential to attract billions in foreign direct investment, in addition to creating thousands of jobs throughout the entire energy value chain,” Dall’Omo says.
Localisation is essential for SA to get the most benefit from gas as a power source, she says. “Localisation in the gas sector will make a measurable difference to socio-economic upliftment, particularly by boosting the number of empowered entrepreneurs.”
Siemens is already committed to transformation and localisation programmes in South Africa through its supplier and enterprise development initiative, where it has invested in excess of R20-million over the past two years.
“It is about more than just financial investment,” Dall’Omo says. “We nurture and develop black-owned partner businesses from grassroots level, and incorporate our global good governance, compliance and ethical business mentoring into the programme, to give rise to a new and empowered generation of entrepreneurs.”
The benefits of gas-to-power
Compared to a coal-fired power plant, a gas-fired combined cycle power plant offers far greater environmental and investment advantages. Using a 600 MW plant as an example, a gas-fired combined cycle power plant runs at over 60% efficiency, while a new coal-fired power plant runs at around 43% efficiency.
A gas-fired combined cycle power plant also ensures a 58% reduction in CO2 emissions. Based on government’s proposed 3 125 MW and 600 MW gas-to-power procurement, this would equate to the annual elimination of approximately 15-million tonnes of CO2 for SA. It also uses considerably less water for cooling when compared to coal or nuclear, making it ideal for a water scarce country like SA.
A 600 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant can produce its first power within 18 months and is completed in less than three years, compared to over five years for the coal-fired power plant. A gas-fired combined cycle power plant consumes almost 50% less land, so effectively produces the same power using half the space.
Gas is also the most flexible power source. Because gas-fired power plants can be stopped quickly and restarted in just 30 minutes, they can follow daily demand requirements and compensate for the variability of renewables. It is the ideal technology for an economy like South Africa, which is using a steadily growing share of renewables to meet its energy needs.
Siemens offers the complete portfolio of high efficiency turbines and complete turnkey solutions with local partners that have been proven worldwide in gas-to-power projects.