【ferro-alloys.com】

  In order to alleviate the serious domestic power crisis, the South African government announced new plans, including the use of more renewable energy such as solar and wind energy.

  On Thursday, South Africa's Ministry of mineral resources and Energy announced eight priority bidders for the government's risk mitigation plan, which will enable independent power suppliers to supplement electricity produced by Eskom, the only state-owned power company.

  Eskom is in a serious financial crisis. In the past decade, power companies have tried hard to increase power generation and improve the stability of power supply. However, due to old equipment, backward infrastructure, poor financial situation and other factors, coupled with heavy dependence on coal and diesel, domestic power supply is insufficient and blackouts are increasing.

  As part of the contingency plan, karpowership SA, a subsidiary of Karadeniz, a Turkish company, will dock three large ships powered by natural gas in the industrial centers of coega, Richards Bay and Saldanha.

  Karadeniz converted the second-hand freighter into a floating electric boat to navigate and dock in areas where electricity is needed. Power is generated by shipborne substations and fed directly into the country's power grid system.

  "The solutions offered by these priority bidders come from a combination of technologies including solar, wind, LNG and battery storage," the Department said

  It is estimated that these projects will inject 45 billion rand into the South African economy, with a construction period of 18 months, creating about 3800 jobs.

  In addition, South Africa's Ministry of energy has also launched a 2600 MW renewable energy bidding process, and the deadline for bidding is August 4. The Ministry of energy said that in the next 12 months, the government will also launch bidding plans for 3000 MW natural gas power generation, 1500 MW Coal Power Generation and 513 MW battery energy storage projects.

• [Editor:Catherine Ren]