Grootvlei Power Station is a
coal-fired power station
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...
located in
Grootvlei,
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
History
The first of Grootvlei's six units was commissioned in 1969. In 1989 three units were mothballed and in 1990 the other three followed. Due to the power crisis being experienced in South Africa,
Eskom
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...
decided to return the station to service. By 2008 three of Grootvlei's units were back online, providing 585MW to the national grid.
Grootvlei's units 5 and 6 were the first test facilities for dry cooling in South Africa. Unit 6 has an indirect
dry cooling system.
On 22 July 2022, Unit 2 suffered a fire caused by a leaking fuel oil supply/return pipeline.
Power generation
The station consists of six units for a total installed capacity of . The design efficiency at the rated Turbine
Maximum Continuous Rating
In electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, the power rating of equipment is the highest power input allowed to flow through particular equipment. According to the particular discipline, the term ''power'' may refer to electrical or ...
is 32.90%.
Crime
In mid-December 2022, at the request of the Minister of Public Enterprises,
Pravin Gordhan
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (12 April 1949 – 13 September 2024) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014, ...
, and President
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...
, Minister of Defence
Thandi Modise deployed a small contingent of
SANDF troops at the station (besides at
Camden,
Majuba and
Tutuka) to curb growing threats of sabotage, theft, vandalism, and corruption.
See also
*
Eskom
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...
*
Fossil-fuel power plant
*
List of power stations in South Africa
South Africa produced around 245,000 GWh of electricity in 2021. Most of this electricity is produced using coal and is consumed domestically. In 2022, 12,300 GWh were exported to Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbab ...
References
External links
Grootvlei Power Station on the
Eskom
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...
-Website
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Energy infrastructure completed in 1969
Coal-fired power stations in South Africa
Buildings and structures in Mpumalanga
Economy of Mpumalanga
20th-century architecture in South Africa