Joburg to use hydropower to keep lights on

30 July 2015 - 02:02 By Shenaaz Jamal

With the electricity crises facing the country, the City of Johannesburg is turning to innovative ways to address energy supply and reduce reliance on Eskom. After a recent trip to the US, the mayor of Johannesburg, Parks Tau, representatives of City Power and Joburg Water, took a closer look at In-pipe Hydropower technology that will be implemented in the city by next year.Utilising the pressure from water flowing inside the pipe, the hydropower technology uses turbines in the network connected to a generator to produce electricity. At the first phase of this project, the city expects to provide 2MW of power that will service households.The project, which will cost R50-million in its first phase, was praised by Joburg Water MD Lungile Dhlamini, who said it was viable in South Africa and should be encouraged. "I was sceptical about it at first, but when I saw it in the USA, I was amazed by the technology. It is good technology and we are going to use it."We don't want to go too big, so we are starting phase one small, and by mid-next year we will be able to produce 2MW that will be able to provide electricity to 750 average households and maybe spread it to more households," Dhlamini said.Joburg Water is working closely with the Portland Water Bureau in Oregon to identify possible portions of the pipe network where the turbines could be installed. "[We] have identified certain components that will need to be imported such as materials and expertise in the turbine-generator technology. The civil engineering aspect will be sourced locally," Dhlamini said...

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