POWERING GAUTRAIN STATIONS AND DEPOT BUILDINGS BASED ON RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE

Renewable energy technology adoption in South Africa, is driven by national energy strategic plans envisaged by the National Department of Energy. Gautrain Management Agency aims to reduce the energy demand pressures exerted by the over-reliance on coal based generated electricity, and to reduce energy costs. In this paper, we investigate the most suitable renewable energy scheme that can meet the energy requirements of some of Gautrain facilities in Gauteng province, South Africa. The renewable energy approaches considered in this work include wind energy and solar energy. Renewable energy sources are first analysed by assessing their potential within Gauteng Province. The suitability of renewable energy sources are then determined by comparing their potential with the power requirement of Gautrain stations and depot buildings. Theoretical design calculations and software simulation are subsequently conducted to obtain a preliminary design of renewable energy a scheme. The result obtained shows that most of the power requirements of Gautrain station and depot buildings can be met by installation of a photovoltaic scheme.