An energy master plan, based on the findings of investigations by the Stellenbosch Municipality into ways of mitigating the impact of load shedding on the municipal area, will be tabled at the next council meeting on 29 March.
Both short- and long-term plans for the municipality will be discussed.
The municipality, from a proactive perspective, started laying the groundwork for this research project in 2018, and in January 2021 the green light was given for a scientific investigation and feasibility study to be conducted into various alternative sources of electricity.
The aim, explained municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar, was to ensure energy experts got involved in the plans to co-generate electricity as a solution to the devastating effects imposed by Eskom’s load shedding on residents and businesses
“Many suggestions were received from the public around building our own power stations, erecting massive wind farms, and even commissioning a nuclear power station,” he said. “These all sound like quick fixes, but they are not. Some are not environmentally friendly or affordable. Going this route will be costly and can be afforded only through exponential tariff increases, as the funding for these projects will have to be funded from our own annual budget. Therefore we must be conservative with our approaches and implementation plans that are realistic, feasible and affordable.”
The plan that was adopted by Council in January 2021 is to be able to drop one or two stages of load shedding and to control the municipality’s own load shedding with a two-phased plan.
Phase 1
In Phase 1 the municipality started with the processes to reduce its dependency on Eskom by 10% by planning on using its own solar generation as well as the surplus generation from the public to reduce the offtake from Eskom.
“In April 2022, we switched on the first sets of solar panels on several municipal properties,” Grobbelaar says. “We have now completed the installation of solar panels on all major municipal buildings and 700 kW of supply has already been commissioned.”
The energy master plan was completed by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and a draft Cost of Supply Study was also completed.
The municipality engaged the services of Stellenbosch University (SU) to conduct an Electricity Storage Study. In addition, the institution is implementing a project together with the Western Cape Government to roll out solar installations at 20 local schools, which will also help reduce the overall load on Eskom.
Grobbelaar said the municipality was in the process of procuring the telemetry, master station and switching gear to enable the switching of sections within the municipal area on a rotating manner themselves to be able to absorb and control surplus electricity physically.
“We have included funding in our Adjustment Budget and Capital Expenditure Framework for this telemetry project,” he said. “Once installed, tested and commissioned, the municipality will ultimately be able to absorb surplus energy, in this way reducing the dependence on the Eskom supply.
“We are encouraging our consumers to install solar panels at their homes and businesses, to reduce the load we collectively need from Eskom. Even those residents who have installed solar units at home, and have not been through the formal application and commissioning process, are encouraged to do so by contacting us via WhatsApp: 076 951 0768, email: engineering.services@stellenbosch.gov.za or telephone: 021 808 8343, 021 808 8215, 021 808 8345 or 021 808 8957
The application form for the connection of Small Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) can be found at https://stellenbosch.gov.za/…/application-for-the…/
“To date, 3,4 MW of solar installations have been successfully registered and installed by the public,” Grobbelaar adds. “At this stage we anticipate that Phase 1 of the project will be completed by 31 December 2023.”
Phase Two
According to Grobbelaar further downstream measures to reduce the impact of load shedding are also underway, and the municipality is preparing to invite external entities to generate electricity through solar farms and battery banks from within the Stellenbosch municipal boundaries.
“We will also collaborate with other Western Cape municipalities to jointly purchase electricity from existing IPPs,” he said. “We intend to investigate the construction of a solar/renewable energy plant within the Stellenbosch municipal area.”
A project to convert methane gas into the much less harmful carbon dioxide from the municipality’s Landfill Site was launched in January this year aiming to generate roughly 500 kW per day. In addition studies are also being performed to look at the employment of gravity storage mechanisms, such as pump-storage schemes as well as green hydrogen generated from landfill sites. This process, according to Grobbelaar, is likely to run up until 2026 and is a longer-term strategy that is being enabled concurrently with Phase 1.
“Stellenbosch Municipality wants to ensure all residents that any decisions taken around our alternative energy solutions will serve before open council,” he said. “The initiatives will be implemented in stages to ensure it is affordable and does not place undue stress on our budget.”
