Mines today look to partner with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who share their commitment to sustainability, and can offer the latest technology to optimise production while reducing their carbon footprint.

This is the view of Eduardo Werninghaus, CEO at WEG Africa, whose exhibit at the Electra Mining Africa highlighted the company’s extensive range of energy technologies – including solar, wind, steam and battery energy storage solution. This diversity of choices, says Werninghaus, allows customers to consider various hybrid energy options to meet their sustainability goals.

“WEG’s important differentiator is that we can draw from our wide selection of energy generation solutions, so we are really unbiased when helping customers find the most suitable design for their specific conditions,” says Werninghaus. “By including renewable energy sources in our offering, we ensure customers can optimise sustainability while not compromising productivity.”

In the field of solar power, WEG has an extensive portfolio of products for all stages of the photovoltaic solar generation projects, with solutions for energy conversion and internal distribution systems. These cover aspects all the way from the plant to the point of connection with the electrical system through high voltage substations.

The focus on clean energy is also driving the expansion of biofuel production, making steam power increasingly relevant to the local economy. WEG has established a leading role in turbogenerator solutions in Brazil, for example, where it has recently supplied systems that this year will add 140 MW of clean energy to that country’s capacity.

“WEG also provides customers with the technology they need to improve energy efficiency – thereby reducing not only their costs but their carbon footprint as well,” he says. “Our WEG W23 Sync+ electric motors are the most complete line of high efficiency units, with exceptional efficiency regardless of speed or load variations.”

These motors can deliver energy savings of up to 30% in comparison to conventional IE3 induction motors using frequency inverters. Werninghaus also points to the cutting edge technology employed in WEG’s frequency inverters, allowing speed variation in three-phase induction motors.

Quantifying the impact of sustainability initiatives is also important, which is why WEG has developed its WEGSEE+ platform for calculating potential energy savings. This allows customers to predict the potential savings achievable by replacing motors, gearboxes and inverters. The tool provides the necessary data for making smart decisions so that resources can be optimised.

Werninghaus highlights how WEG has embraced sustainable production in its own operations, emphasising its understanding of how important this priority is for its customers. As a measure of this commitment, WEG was awarded Gold Medal status from Ecovadis last year. Ecovadis is one of the world’s main global rating agencies for corporate sustainability management.

“We are also judged to be a ‘leader’ company by CDP Climate Change, who focus on assessing companies’ decarbonisation management,” he says. “Our environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk is also classified as ‘low’ by Sustainalytics.”

Part of WEG’s sustainability drive is also to promote local production, which reduces the carbon footprint associated with long haul transportation of products, and promotes the local economy while reducing lead-times for customers. The company’s electric motor production lines in Johannesburg are just one example of WEG’s local resource base. Among its many South African facilities is the Robertsham operation which engineers automation systems, the genset manufacturing operations in Cape Town and now also in Johannesburg, and the transformer manufacturing facilities in Wadeville and Heidelberg.

“Sustainability is at the centre of how we operate as a company, and we were able to reinforce this message at the Electra Mining Africa exhibition,” says Werninghaus. “This drive ensures that we are continuously developing our technology to support our customers’ sustainability goals.”

Now in the final stages of installation and commissioning, an important substation E-house facility at Sasol’s Upstream Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Project in Mozambique has relied on WEG Africa’s depth of experience, locally based technical infrastructure and specialised skill sets.

The E-house solution with transformers and generator set, procured by EPCM contractor Wood, was locally designed and manufactured by WEG Africa and supplied in partnership with local engineering firm Proconics. 

“The project has been a successful demonstration of our product quality and technological capacity, delivered to the highest global standards,” says Lukas Barnard, WEG Africa’s Sector Specialist Oil and Gas – Business Development. “Our scope of supply was really the ‘electrical heart’ of the project – with the electrical supply and control for the entire PSA plant coming through the E-houses.”

The PSA Project includes the construction of facilities to produce 23 million gigajoules of gas/annum, which will power the Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT) to generate 450MW of electricity and excess gas for export. It will also include a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facility that will produce 30,000 tons per year, meeting 75% of Mozambique’s cooking gas demand, as well as light oil for export. The substation package measures 45 m by 22 m and includes medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) switchgear, a battery room, a local equipment room and an HVAC system. 

Barnard highlighted how the E-house option overcomes the various challenges of building conventional electrical facilities on-site in countries with limited infrastructure. WEG Africa could manufacture and pre-assemble the E-houses under controlled workshop conditions at its advanced facility in Heidelberg, Gauteng. The design also responded to the harsh environmental conditions and other risks on the site. 

“The site for which the E-house solution has been designed is in a region which has experienced multiple hurricanes in the past,” Barnard says. “WEG Africa also considered the elevation and environmental weather conditions to ensure the E-house solution will withstand the harshest conditions.”

Special treatment of the steel was necessary to ensure the high level of corrosion protection required by the client. All related work was conducted in accordance with SANS 12944 for C5M – or highly corrosive – environments. Outer walls are constructed from 3CR12 stainless steel, with galvanised steel for outside staircases and walkways. Another design element which the structure includes is its ability to resist seismic events with ground acceleration of up to 0.20g – the measure of g-force or ground acceleration.

The conducive workshop conditions for constructing the E-houses – and the ready access to the necessary expertise – facilitated strict adherence to WEG Africa’s manufacturing quality standards, which are aligned to ISO 9001. Barnard notes that this also allowed for greater manufacturing efficiency, while reducing the number of people required on site; improving safety levels and minimising the risk of construction-related incidents. 

“The whole package, with all the relevant equipment, could be transported to site,” he explains. “Even though the logistics were challenging, this method greatly reduced the complexity and timeline, due to all the equipment already being installed and tested.”

He reiterates that this project combined the manufacturing capabilities of WEG Africa and the project management and design capabilities of Proconics. This demonstrates that the partnership the two companies have built can provide full turnkey solutions to the oil and gas industry.

“Working closely with the contractor, WEG Africa and Proconics ensured all the client expectations were met, and the highest quality of workmanship delivered,” he says. “The success of a project like this also sends a clear message to the market that the necessary expertise and industrial capabilities are right here in South Africa.”

He says the experience gained from this project has proved that WEG Africa in well positioned to execute similar projects in the energy sector. The success with which project challenges were overcome also generated important lessons that can be carried into future projects.

“WEG Africa’s portfolio in the energy sector is growing steadily, which is good news in terms of responding to the country’s current energy challenges,” he concludes.