Ankerlig Power Station

Ankerlig Power Station
Location of Ankerlig Power Station in South Africa
Country	South Africa
Location	Atlantis
Coordinates	33°35′32″S 18°27′37″E / 33.59222°S 18.46028°E / -33.59222; 18.46028Coordinates: 33°35′32″S 18°27′37″E / 33.59222°S 18.46028°E / -33.59222; 18.46028
Status	Operational
Commission date	2007
Owner(s)	Eskom
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Diesel
Power generation
Units operational	9
Nameplate capacity	1338 MW

Ankerlig Power Station (previously known as the Atlantis OCGT power station) is one of five gas turbine power plants in South Africa and has the capacity to produce 1338 Megawatts.

The plant is named after an Afrikaans expression "om die anker te lig" -hence the name "Ankerlig"-, which suggests a community that rises above the chains of poverty to go onto grow and prosper.^[1] The Ankerlig plant was built at the same time as the Gourikwa Power Station at a combined cost of R3.5 billion and was opened on 1 October 2007 by Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka.^[2] The plant is located close to the R27 just north of Atlantis in the Western Cape.

Design

To cope with the increasing power demands of the Western Cape during periods of peak power demands, a gas turbine design that can be powered by either natural gas or liquid fuel, kerosene or diesel was chosen. The plant has nine cycle gas turbines each approximately 60m tall and eight fuel storage tanks with a combined storage capacity of 43 million litres.^[3] The plant was built by Siemens.^[4]

Conversion to Natural Gas

Due to the high cost of diesel and the discovery of natural gas, the Ibhubesi gas project, 400km north west offshore, Ankerlig is to be converted to gas. Conversion is expected to be completed in 2018.^[5]

See also

• List of power stations in South Africa

References