Transnet seeks renewable energy to shift freight
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), the largest division of state-owned logistics company Transnet, has started the process to procure power from renewable energy sources as it moves to stabilise its energy supply and lessen its reliance on Eskom.
The company on Monday issued a notice calling for private sector players to submit project proposals for a renewable energy programme to supply power to its five main corridors. The request for information will mainly be used to gauge market appetite, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The move indicates the company’s ambition to eventually move away from Eskom-supplied power, which is prone to frequent disruptions due to the power utility’s old and unreliable power stations.
The request coincides with the global climate conference,
COP27, at which global leaders are meeting to discuss ways to cut global emissions and move away from fossil fuels in favour of clean energy sources.
The freight division’s infrastructure is used to transport crucial commodities such as coal and iron ore to port in SA and its neighbours and is therefore energy intensive. During the 2021/2022 financial year, TFR says it consumed in excess of 1,800 GWh on traction energy.
“TFR seeks to understand how affordable renewable electric energy can be integrated in its traction power supplies to improve energy security and efficiency and reduce its operational impact on the environment,” the company said.
“Primarily the loads which TFR aims to supply on its vast rail network are traction loads, which are intermittent in nature with high peak and short duration demand periods.”
The division maintains a rail network of about 31,000 track kilometres (20,900 route kilometres).
The move to electrify its main corridors with renewable energy follows the lead of Transnet’s ports division.
TFR’s main corridors are its ore-line corridor (Sishen to Saldanha), the north corridor (for coal export from Lephalale to Richards Bay), the northeast corridor (Polokwane, Nelspruit, Phalaborwa, Komatipoort), central corridor (Botswana, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg), the container corridor (Johannesburg to Durban) and the Cape corridor (Hotazel to Kimberley, Bloemfontein, De Aar to Gqeberha and Cape Town).
It intends to introduce an energy mix that includes solar, wind and hybrids of hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal.
The request for information “objective is to establish the existing and envisioned renewable energy projects, to assess the potential for electricity wheeling and for joint venture development partnership[s] with [the] private sector for selfgeneration”, TFR said.
Responses to the request for information may be localised and need not cover the whole country, corridor or region. Documents can be accessed at the National Treasury’s e-tender publication portal.
The Minerals Council SA welcomed the news, saying any steps to decarbonise the broader economy were to be welcomed. Securing renewable energy for the rail and ports infrastructure is a step in the right direction if it ensures more reliable and costefficient transport logistics.
The council said there were, however, issues such as security, locomotive spares, maintenance problems and productivity issues within Transnet that needed to be dealt with urgently so the country could fully realise its export potential.