Unit 3 at Ingula now synchronized
Ingula will be the largest pumped storage scheme in Africa and the 14th largest in the world upon completion
Unit 3 at the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme was synchronized to the national grid on Saturday (October 29). This, in effect, means that the final unit has been synchronized.
Synchronization is the process whereby the generator in the unit is electrically connected to the national power grid in such a way that its power is perfectly aligned with all the other generators to generate and deliver electricity into the national power grid.
According to Sowetan Live, “Ingula’s four units are located 350m underground in the world’s largest machine hall in mud-rock. To turn the more than 500-ton rotating mass of the generator rotor and turbine‚ water is released from Ingula’s upper dam‚ Bedford Dam‚ situated 460m higher and two kilometres away.
“Water rushes down to the turbines at around 60km per hour, with enough water passing through each turbine to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in six seconds. Rotating at 428 revolutions per minute‚ each unit will produce 333 MW‚ a total for the station of 1332MW‚” Eskom said.
They also stated that the pumped storage scheme is part of Eskom’s peaking fleet of power stations. It can respond to demand increases on the national grid within two and a half minutes.
Ingula will be the largest pumped storage scheme in Africa and the 14th largest in the world upon completion.
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