Eskom, the South African state utility, reported that Unit 4 of the Medupi Power Station Project in Lephalale, Limpopo, was connected to the national power grid on May 31. Unit 4’s connection to the grid makes it the third of six units to come onstream. It also marked a key milestone towards full commercial operations of the unit ahead of its scheduled.
Unit 4 was synchronized with the grid, which aligned it with all other generators on the national grid. It will now start to generate and deliver electricity into the grid over several months.
“Medupi Unit 4 synchronization is a great milestone and a strong indication that we are on the right path on delivering the entire New Build program to the country, ahead of schedule. I am thrilled by this achievement,” says Prish Govender, acting Group Executive for Group Capital in a statement on the Eskom website.
“This achievement makes us all proud and we commend the team for their commitment in working tirelessly to ensure that unit 4 synchronization is achieved ahead of schedule,” Govender added.
Once completed, Medupi will be the fourth largest coal-fired power plant, and the largest dry-cooled power station in the world. It will consist of six units with an installed capacity of 4,800 MW. The planned operational life of the power station is 50 years.