Koeberg Unit Two roars back to life
Posted on August 14th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,180 views
It’s been slightly over the estimated three week period originally assessed as the time needed to repair Koeberg’s Unit Two which was shut down on July 21 2008.
Reuter’s reports that the shut down was caused by a hydrogen leak in the cooling system of Unit Two.
Currently the Unit is operating at about 63% of capacity but by tomorrow it should be at full power and delivering 900MW of power.
Tags: Koeberg
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South Africa’s new Energy Policy abandons coal
Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,671 views
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa’s Minister of the Environment, announced a new energy policy yesterday that moves away from using predominantly dirty coal for the generation of electricity.
The new policy, recently agreed by Cabinet, is driven by environmental concerns. According to United Nations climate predictions, global warming presents the greatest threat to Africa (of all the continents).
Van Schalkwyk believes that if South Africa takes action now, our greenhouse gas emissions would stabilise by 2025, whereafter it would start declining. South Africa is also pushing the United States and other developed nations to play their part in combating global warming. South Africa wants developed nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 – 40% by 2025 and by 85 – 90% by 2050. So far this has met with resistance.
The South African government plans to introduce concrete measures by 2009 which would include compulsory energy savings measures and possibly a carbon tax.
Currently 90% of South Africa’s energy is generated by coal fired power stations. Eskom still has plans to build one new coal fired power station by 2013 and bring two retired ones back into production to boost electricity production in the short term. Recent shortfalls in electricity supplies have dampened the rate of growth of the South African economy.
In the longer term, however, the government will only allow the construction of carbon neutral power stations. These would include a new nuclear power station planned to be built alongside the existing Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town, and other alternative forms of energy such as wind farms and solar energy.
South Africa has the world’s cheapest coal-fired electricity at 22 cents per Kilowatt per hour.
FURTHER READING:
South African says it will shift energy policy from coal to combat climate change
Tags: electricity, Eskom, global warming, Koeberg, Marthinus van Schalkwyk
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Brilliant Koeberg / Parklands spoof article on Hayibo
Posted on July 28th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,255 views
Spoof web site, Hayibo, published an amusing satirical article about a conjectured Koeberg meltdown earlier today.
“Our men and woman are trained to go into nuclear meltdowns, not apocalyptic middle-class suburban shitholes”, city manager Angeldust Mangena (sic) said, referring to Parklands.
“We have excellent anti-radiation equipment, but there’s nothing you can wear that will protect you from Parklands.”
“Sometimes you think, If humans are capable of building Parklands, what else are we capable of?” opined Disaster team leader Heinrich Vilakazi (sic).
“Ja, for sure, I’ve thought about ending it all, about just walking into Parklands and going into an estate agency and putting down a deposit on a duplex. But my family and my faith have kept me strong.”
Hayibo’s tag line is “Breaking News. Into lots of little pieces.”
I signed up to receive their newsletter, because I wouldn’t want to miss out on news this good! 
Tags: Hayibo, Koeberg, Parklands
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The Drunken Sailor – Koeberg Unit One
Posted on July 27th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,305 views
What shall we do with a drunken Koeberg? x 3
Early in the morning?
Hooray and up she rises! x 3
Early in the morning!
- The Drunken Sailor song
Less than 12 hours after tripping out, Koeberg Unit One is back online, apparently averting a major power crisis for Capetonians, so reports Andrew Etzinger, general manager at Eskom.
Meanwhile, French engineers from French power company, Alstom are assisting Eskom to repair Koeberg’s Unit Two which was shut down earlier in the week. Estimated Time to be back in service is still set at over two weeks. I sure hope those Frenchies know what they’re doin’!
Etzinger has cautioned us not to become complacent.
Okie Dokie. Wake me when you’ve sobered up, Koeberg.
FURTHER READING:
Koeberg’s Unit 1 back to full power tomorrow
French company assists with Koeberg repairs
Tags: electricity crisis, Koeberg, Unit One
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And now Koeberg Unit One is offline too!
Posted on July 26th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,561 views
Oops! Now we are really in for it. On Friday, July 25 2008 at 17h20, Koeberg’s Unit One tripped. Both of Koeberg’s power generating units are now offline which means the national grid just lost 1800MW of power.
Starting Monday, Capetonians are being told to brace for a resumption of rolling black outs. Koeberg’s staff have been recalled and they are spending the weekend working on the problem in staggered shifts.
Right now, Eskom is still investigating the cause of Unit One’s trip. They don’t know what caused it nor how long it will take to fix.
The public is being advised to stock up on candles and gas lamps, because power could be shut off at any point now.
FURTHER READING:
Power crisis time – again.
Tags: electricity crisis, Koeberg, Unit One
Filed under electricity, Eskom | 9 Comments »
