| Grootvlei Power Station | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Location | Grootvlei,Mpumalanga |
| Coordinates | 26°46′S28°30′E / 26.767°S 28.500°E /-26.767; 28.500 |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1969 |
| Owner | Eskom |
| Operator | |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Turbine technology | |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 |
| Units planned | 6 × 200 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 1,200Megawatt[1] |
Grootvlei Power Station is acoal-fired power station located inGrootvlei,Mpumalanga,South Africa.
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,Eskom decided to return the station to service. By 2008 three of Grootvlei's units were back online, providing 585MW to the national grid.[2]
Grootvlei's units 5 and 6 were the first test facilities for dry cooling in South Africa. Unit 6 has an indirectdry cooling system.
On 22 July 2022, Unit 2 suffered a fire caused by a leaking fuel oil supply/return pipeline.[3]
The station consists of six 200 megawatts (270,000 hp) units for a total installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts (1,600,000 hp). The design efficiency at the rated TurbineMaximum Continuous Rating is 32.90%.
In mid-December 2022, at the request of the Minister of Public Enterprises,Pravin Gordhan, and PresidentCyril Ramaphosa, Minister of DefenceThandi Modise deployed a small contingent ofSANDF troops at the station (besides atCamden,Majuba andTutuka) to curb growing threats of sabotage, theft, vandalism, and corruption.[4]
