Background
The Medupi Power Station Project is a green-fields
coal-fired power plant located west of Lephalale, Limpopo Province, South
Africa.
Medupi is the first base-load station to be built in
20 years by Eskom after Majuba Power Station This
base-load power station was formerly known as Project Alpha and has since been
named Medupi which means “rain that
soaks parched lands, giving economic relief”.
Eskom
undertook screening and feasibility studies in order to determine the most
viable plant location option for Medupi Power Station. Assessment criteria
included:
availability and accessibility of primary resources, such as coal and water
ability of the new power station to connect to the existing Eskom network/grid
environmental acceptability
cost of production
Eskom ranked the Waterberg
Coalfields and the Lephalale area in the vicinity of the existing Matimba Power
station as the most favourable option for the establishment of a new coal-fired
power station due to inter alia:
land availability in close proximity to the primary coal source
properties of coal in the area are well known due to the experience acquired through the existing Matimba PowerStation
competitive coal prices
low environmental impact on the chosen
site.
The boiler and turbine contracts for Medupi are the largest contracts that Eskom has ever signed in its history. All main contracts have been awarded and only one is remaining. The project has a total of 32 principal contractors, who utilise a further ±300 subcontractors and sub-subcontractors.
Construction activities commenced in May 2007. The power station will have full installed capacity by 2020. Once completed, the power station will be the fourth largest coal-fired plant and the largest dry-cooled power station in the world.The Medupi Power Station Project in Lephalale is a green-fields coal-fired power plant comprising of six units rated in total at 4 800MW installed capacity.
Technical information
The uniqueness of this project
lies therein that Medupi is being constructed in reverse sequence, the opposite of the traditional Eskom practice
of starting with Unit 1 and ending with Unit 6. This distinguishing approach is
the result of the rock conglomeration on the southern side of the site which
was excavated and reused as engineering fill on the northern side.
Medupi is also built ready for the installation of
abatement technology such as flue gas desulphurisation which will reduce
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emissions by over 90%. It will also include pulse jet fabric filters, which will remove approximately 99% of
particulate matter, and low NOx
burners that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. All of this will have an
effect of reducing the environmental impact on ambient air quality.
Medupi
Power Station leads the fleet to implement lining
for its ash dams and coal
stockyards. The power station will operate under Zero Liquid Effluent Discharge (ZLED) principles meaning that all
treated effluent generated by the power station will be re-used and not
released to the environment. The planned operational life of the station is 50
years.