Grootvlei Power Station
Encyclopedia
Grootvlei Power Station in Balfour
, Mpumalanga
, South Africa
.
decided to return the station to service. By 2008 two of Grootvlei's units were back online, providing 585MW to the national grid.
Grootvlei's units 5 and 6 were the first test facilities for dry cooling in South Africa. Unit 6 has an indirect dry cooling system.
is 32.90%
Balfour, Mpumalanga
Balfour is a small coal mining and maize farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The town was established in 1898 as McHattiesburg after its founder Frederick McHattie. In 1905 the town changed its name when the British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour gave a speech at the local station platform...
, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
History
The first of Grootvlei's six units was commissioned in 1969. In 1989 three units were mothballed and in 1990 the other three followed. Due to the power crisis being experienced in South Africa, EskomEskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
decided to return the station to service. By 2008 two of Grootvlei's units were back online, providing 585MW to the national grid.
Grootvlei's units 5 and 6 were the first test facilities for dry cooling in South Africa. Unit 6 has an indirect dry cooling system.
Power Generation
The station consists of six 200MW units for a total installed capacity of 1,200MW. Turbine Maximum Continuous RatingMaximum Continuous Rating
Maximum continuous rating is defined as the maximum output that a generating station is capable of producing continuously under normal conditions over a year. Under ideal conditions, the actual output could be higher than the MCR....
is 32.90%
See also
- EskomEskomEskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
- Fossil-fuel power plant
- List of power stations in South Africa