In his upfront Comment in this issue of Electricity + Control, Editorial Technical Director, Professor Ian Jandrell’s reminder of the importance of energy efficiency and using what energy we do have wisely and well, is apt. Although for a few short weeks we all enjoyed a more stable energy supply, as winter continues the country’s aging power stations again show their vulnerability. Uncertainty over possible further delays on the Koeberg Unit 1 outage and a potential overlap with Unit 2 being taken offline, add further concern.
In Electricity + Control our guiding focus is on the interface of energy + information in industry. All our features address the different and interlinked aspects of this. Hence, in this issue we look at Industry 4.0 + the Industrial Internet of Things, Energy management + the industrial environment, Sensors + switches, and Plant maintenance, test + measurement.
Energy management remains top of mind for all South African manufacturers and industry broadly – indeed for the country as a whole. It is one of the features in focus in this July edition.
As the energy sector opens up to higher levels of private sector power generation and new ways of securing a stable power supply, Jan Fourie, Executive VP for Scatec in sub-Saharan Africa, sets out some of the important factors for companies to consider when looking to enter into first-time power purchase agreements with independent power producers.
Also in this feature, Mark Freeman and Nishandra Baijnath of Schneider Electric present some of the new technologies available to optimise microgrid management – where grid supply, backup generators, and possibly solar PV input and battery energy storage as well – need to be managed cohesively for island sites, at bigger or smaller scale.
In Industry 4.0 + IIoT, Andrew Cruise, Managing Director of cloud services provider Routed, outlines key considerations for companies searching for the cloud provider that will best suit their needs.
And the CLPA highlights the growing number of industrial automation device manufacturers developing TSN capable devices to serve the market shift towards connected industries. Industrial Ethernet with TSN functions is becoming widely accepted as the enabling network technology to support convergent IT and OT communications.
In Sensors + switches we see how companies like Vega, ifm, Instrotech and Turck Banner serve diverse industries with the best solutions to support safety, predictive maintenance, and productivity.
In Plant maintenance, test + measurement Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya of ABB Measurement & Analytics, explains how advanced measurement instruments can help in establishing smart asset management systems for water utilities – key to managing water supplies more sustainably and tackling water scarcity.
In our regular column on Engineering the future, we learn how V2Techs, a technology startup co-founded in the USA by a South African team, has invented an electromagnetic combo motor that works as a prime mover for any electric power generator, potentially changing the way that electricity has been produced and distributed for the past 140 years.
And Write @ the back we report on the new Inclusive Carbon Standard, developed in SA and designed to simplify the processes – and reduce the costs – involved in claiming carbon credits, making this more widely accessible to smaller as well as bigger projects and so encouraging the reduction of carbon emissions.