Company provides a solution for sustainable power generation

29th January 2016

By: Kimberley Smuts

Creamer Media Reporter

  

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Technology manufacturer and service provider Cummins Africa has made natural- gas-powered generator sets (gensets) available on the South African market as a more sustainable solution than the standard diesel solution most commonly used.

This comes after the company noted in August that South African business operations were under increasing pressure to adopt more reliable sources of power to overcome the disruptive and costly impact of load-shedding.

The company notes that diesel power generation for continuous use is very costly, whereas natural gas is a methane-rich and naturally occurring gas found onshore or offshore. It is more cost effective than other alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power. Although the capital cost of a natural-gas genset can be up to two times more than that of a diesel genset, Cummins Southern Africa power generation director Kenny Gaynor points out that the opera- tional cost is substantially lower over a five- to ten-year period.

Gaynor states that the main mechanical difference between the two genset options lies in the ignition.
“A natural-gas genset uses spark ignition to start, while a diesel genset uses a compression ignition . . . by placing the fuel mixture under pressure.

“While the upfront cost is considerably higher, the financing costs of the higher capital expenditure . . . are lower in comparison to that of the operating costs for diesel fuel, which are [also] prone to more cost fluctuations than natural gas.”

Therefore, using natural gas ultimately results in a significantly lower kilowatt-hour cost, compared with diesel.

An added benefit of natural-gas gensets is waste heat recovery, a process whereby generated heat can be recycled and reused for industrial processes and temperature conversion.

“Waste heat as high as 500 oC can be reused for a number of processes, such as boilers for laundry operations in a hospital or any other process that requires heat,” Gaynor explains, adding that the heat can also be trapped and converted for use in air conditioning and the cooling of data centres and office space.

The major advantage of waste heat recovery through the use of natural-gas gensets is that generated heat can be recycled and reused for industrial processes and temperature conversion. Gaynor says enquiries for natural-gas gensets have been increasing, with the number of enquiries that the company received in 2015 equalling the total number of enquiries received in 2013 and 2014 combined. He states that, when comparing Cummins natural-gas-powered gensets to those of competitors, it is vital to consider the gensets’ efficiency criteria.

“It’s important that one looks at the entire chain because it’s not only . . . gas . . . that makes the gensets viable, but also their level of electrical efficiency and system integration. And considering the number of years that natural-gas gensets have been available in the African market, Cummins products and solutions have been well received.”

Moreover, the company mentions that the availability of natural gas in Southern Africa impacts on the sale of natural-gas gensets. As a result, the company is considering Africa for more exposure to landfill gas and biogas.

“Industries in Africa have . . . realis[ed] that natural gas is a sustainable source of power generation. This type of technology is, however, still in its early stages – with natural gas accounting for about 4% of power generation in Africa, compared with the international average of 21%,” he adds.

Also, Gaynor points out that natural gas is not freely available in Africa because of pipeline infrastructure constraints.

“In South Africa, for example, most of the existing natural-gas pipeline infrastructure was built over 30 years ago, with little investment . . . in upgrades and new infrastructure,” he mentions.

Mozambique has abundant natu- ral gas reserves; however, there is only one privately owned pipeline, which limits regional supply, says Gaynor. Owing to this, he believes that investment should be made in a second pipeline, which could increase natural gas wholesale distribution and supply to South Africa, while old regional infrastructure can be replaced or refurbished.

Meanwhile, Gaynor indicates that the natural gas markets in Nigeria and Tanzania are growing steadily and, with more investment in distributing this fuel throughout South Africa, natural gas will become a more viable power generation option across the continent.

“The interest in natural gas is there – it is now just a matter of making it more readily available and cost efficient through infrastructure upgrades,” he concludes.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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