The demand for electricity in South Africa has caused a lot of industrial and mining companies to look at alternative ways of generating power to decrease downtime at their operations, says diesel engines and related technology manufacturer and service provider Cummins SA.

Cummins SA highlights the steady demand for its power-generation equipment and says its range of power-generation equipment enables it to meet any demand for standby power in industry.

“Cummins SA’s Power Generation department provides a power solution that involves a preintegrated design, rather than the combination of an engine, an alternator, controls and transfer switches from several manufacturers. The results of preintegrated power solutions are smaller equipment footprints, reduced installation time and higher system reliability in a region that is regularly affected by constant and prolonged power outages,” says Cummins SA commercial power systems GM Nicola Morgan-Evens.

Currently, a Cummins SA motivator powers a large-scale electric rope shovel at diamond miner Debswana’s Jwaneng openpit mine, in Botswana. It is also being used for the tramming of several pit drills and smaller hydraulic shovels at the mine.

Cummins SA mentions that the Bucyrus 495 rope shovel is a large electrically powered machine that is used at mines throughout the world for loading and moving mining material. It requires an electricity supply to tram from one point to the next.

“The Bucyrus 495 rope shovel is powered by a 2 MVA Cummins motivator, which is a containerised diesel generator that is mounted onto a custom-built Martin trailer. The Cummins C2250-D5 generator is powered by a Cummins QSK 60 G4 engine, which is coupled to a Stamford alternator that produces 2 000 kVA at 6 600 V prime power. The Cummins PCC 3201 generator controller provides control and protection of the Cummins engine and generator,” highlights Cummins SA projects division GM Werner Bester.

Also, a regeneration-prevention feature is built into the motivator, as regenerative power occurs while the bucket is being lowered. High volumes of this type of power can cause damage to the alternator and, therefore, it is monitored to ensure that vital equipment is protected.

“Additional infrared arc detection is installed within close proximity to the switch gear, which will dispense a fire-suppression agent as soon as a flash is detected. There are numerous easily accessible fire extinguishers mounted on the trailer too,” Bester points out.

He explains that the fire-protection system is a dual system that comprises FM 200 gas in the switchgear section and dry powder in the generator section.

The protection system continuously moni- tors the earth resistance between the components and, should a short circuit or open circuit occur, Bester explains, that it will change the value of the neutral earth from the one point to the next. “As soon as a fluctuation is detected on the neutral earth, the system will open the supply breaker and shut the machine down.”

Another safety feature of the Cummins motivator is its standard externally visible three-colour alarm lighting system. In addition to potential fire hazards, this system alerts operators to likely problems, ranging from minor to major faults.

Morgan-Evens also highlights that current product development at Cummins Power Generation focuses on the reduction of engine and generator-set emissions that can contribute to pollution and global warming.

The company states that its range of power-generation equipment is designed to foster a cleaner and healthier environment, while the equipment is also designed with numerous protection features.

Bester is optimistic about an increase in future demand for the Cummins motivators and believes that the company’s reputation, built over time by providing safe and reliable machines, will make it a frontrunner across different industries.