South Africa urgently needs to address a fundamental misunderstanding about solar energy to prevent continued financial waste by the government, corporates, and investors says Lance Dickerson, Co-founder and MD of REVOV.
At present, the country is experiencing a temporary respite from load shedding, bringing much-needed relief to the economy. However, this stability is superficial. During the day, there is sufficient energy supply, but from 6pm to 9pm, the country relies on expensive open-cycle gas turbines to meet the demand.
This reliance highlights the inadequacy of solar power alone to ensure energy security in South Africa. The solution lies in investing equally in battery energy storage systems (BESS) alongside solar panels.
Nersa's recent alert underscores the issue. In the last quarter of 2023, R7.8 billion was invested in solar power generation, with three commercial solar facilities costing R1.7 billion. Yet, only R4 million was invested in batteries.
This imbalance is problematic because solar panels can only generate electricity when the sun is shining. Without batteries, any electricity produced is lost when it is not immediately needed by the grid.
To illustrate, consider a scenario of severe load shedding during the day. Solar panels can feed power into the grid as needed, but once demand drops, any excess energy is wasted. For example, a 50MW solar plant only produces what the grid demands at any given time. If only 1MW is needed, the other 49MW is wasted. With a proper BESS, excess energy could be stored and used during peak hours (6am to 9am and 6pm to 9pm), alleviating pressure on Eskom's generation capacity.
Despite the evident benefits, the investment focus remains skewed towards solar farms without considering the necessary battery infrastructure. This oversight has resulted in billions of rands being spent on incomplete projects. Properly integrating BESS would have allowed the country to achieve greater impact with a fraction of the investment in solar power alone.
The current situation sees solar panel providers leading the charge, while the real value lies in the engineering of batteries and inverters.
These components are crucial for addressing the actual problem of energy storage and peak demand. If South Africa had matched its solar investments with equivalent spending on BESS, the country could have significantly buffered against load shedding and peak demand periods.
The reality is stark: installing solar panels without accompanying batteries results in immense financial and energy wastage.
Addressing daytime energy needs does not solve the issues faced during peak times. As long as this imbalance persists, South Africa will continue to rely on Eskom's limited and unreliable energy reserves.
Enquiries: www.revov.co.za
