Most dams built in SA came equipped with hydroelectric power generators installed. These were installed from the budget of the Department of Water Affairs, who were thinking way ahead and realised that they had to utilise each and every opportunity to generate electricity. Every dam suitable for generating power was designed to do so and equipped to do so.
In many instances those generators were never ever wired to the grid and according to most people in the know, it was Eskom’s fault.
If your search the internet you will find that, even to this day, there is no cheaper form of electricity, with less maintenance, than hydroelectricity.
The problem is that there is no money in it. Once the dam wall is built, the turbines installed and connected to the grid, it just keeps running and those generators last almost forever with the least amount of maintenance needed.
With coal, however, someone needs to mine the coal, transport the coal, store the coal. Coal is to SA what oil is to other countries.
Imagine how many people would lose their work in SA today should coal driven power plants be shut down and all replaced with hydroelectricity.
If all the hydroelectric power generators, never connected, standing rotting to pieces, some even stolen believe it or not, SA would not have this energy crisis.
That is why Eskom never even connected many of those hydro-electric generators to the grid. It was provided to them, without any cost to them, all paid for from the Department of Water Affairs’ budget, but Eskom turned around and said that the generation of electricity was not the domain of Water Affairs and that they, Eskom, would decide what gets used and what not.
Today SA has a huge coal industry, which forms a large part of the South Africa economy.
Of course in the case of nuclear power, very few would be making money from it, but the intention is not to replace coal with nuclear. Nuclear would just add to the existing coal-driven system, not replace what is. The ruling movement, often referred to as a “political party”, will of course would be coining billions from the nuclear plants to be built, which is what it is all about.
Politically, Russia has always wanted access to SA’s uranium and our technology. With this latest deal they’ll be making money while getting an open door to what they’ve always wanted.
While I believe that Putin is the strongest political leader in the world today, he also has an agenda and that agenda may not be to the advantage of the world.
By Johan B Prinsloo
SA has the following hydroelectric schemes at present:
Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme, energy storage facility built in the South African provinces of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal starting in 1974 and completed by 1981.
Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme (under construction since around 2008), Kouga Dam (There are three 1200 kVA hydroelectric turbines at the base of the dam, but they are currently not in use),
Ncora Dam (now only used for irrigation),
Palmiet Pumped Storage Scheme, consists of two 200 megawatts (270,000 hp) turbine units located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) upstream of the Kogelberg Dam on the Palmiet River near Cape Town, South Africa.
Steenbras Dam (was opened in 1979 to supplement Cape Town’s electricity supply during periods of peak demand),
Vanderkloof Dam is fed by the Orange River, South Africa’s largest river. and supplies 240mw with two turbines.
Seven in total.
The only ones working, are: Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme, Palmiet, Vanderkloof and Steenbras.
Four in total.
How well they are working, is anyone’s guess.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
