As the Hormuz disruption drags on, large energy users around the world and in South Africa have faced an unprecedented, sobering new reality: diesel – always the last line of defence for power systems.
Dominic Goncalves, a decarbonisation adviser at renewables firm, Cresco, says the availability of diesel during a crisis has hardly been questioned until six weeks ago.
“When South Africa’s power goes out, diesel keeps the country running,” he writes in a column on the topic.
“During stable system operations, like now, Eskom’s open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) are used only at minimal levels to balance the system.
“But when Eskom’s system reserves are low, Eskom ramps up the usage of these diesel OCGTs to reduce the need to load-shed as much as possible.”
- Read the rest of this opinion piece in our ‘Columns’ section.
