Hendrina Power Station

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Hendrina power station is a 1,400-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Three 200 MW units were retired in 2019, reducing the plant's capacity from 2,000 MW to 1,400 MW. The remaining seven units are planned for retirement by 2022.

Location

The map below shows the location of the plant, near Pullens Hope, Nkangala District, Mpumalanga.

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Background on Plant

The Hendrina Power Station is a coal-fired station owned by the South African publicly-owned electricity utility Eskom. The power station has an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW) installed capacity comprising 10 X 200 MW units. It was built between 1970 and 1976 and refurbished in the mid 1990s.

Retirement

In March 2019 it was reported that three of the plant's ten 200 MW units had been retired. The remaining seven 200 MW units are expected to be shut down between June 2019 and November 2022.

Proposed renewal

In April 2016 the Eskom Board said it approved the commencement of a pre-feasibility study for renewal options for four of our oldest power stations - Komati, Camden, Hendrina and Arnot. The pre-feasibility study would take 18 months to complete, and would include looking at options such as plant life extension.

However, in March 2017 Eskom said that it would hold meetings with the government and labour to discuss its plans to decommission five power stations over the next five years: Komati Power Station, Hendrina Power Station, Kriel Power Station, Grootvlei Power Station, and Camden Power Station. Eskom said the stations are old and unneeded, given the country's plans for new power capacity by independent power producers (IPPs).

In 2017, two older coal-fired units from Eskom's Grootvlei Power Station, one older unit from Eskom's Hendrina Power Station, and two older units from Eskom's Komati Power Station were placed into coal reserve because their running costs are higher than other units. A government spokesman said that the old stations are expected to remain uneconomical to run, even if refurbished, compared to renewable energy IPP power options and the company's newer stations at Medupi and Kusile.

Plant Details

• Sponsor: Eskom
• Parent company: Eskom
• Location: Pullens Hope, Nkangala District, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Coordinates: -26.0320437, 29.6016128 (exact)
• Status: Operating
• Gross capacity: 1,400 MW (7 x 200 MW)
• Type: Subcritical
• Start year: 1970-76
• Coal type:
• Coal source:
• Source of financing:

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