Sales of industrial generators in Africa for 2020 amounted to a total of $5,35 billion. The figure is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 5,7% (compounded) until at least 2028. Market growth is driven primarily by increasingly unreliable grid power but also by growth in the demand for data centres as Africa digitises. Datacentres require sophisticated backup power solutions as even short duration power interruptions result in considerable economic losses for these businesses. This growth trend is also reflected in the South African generator market with annual compound growth of more than 2% over the period 2020 to 2025.
Due to the fact that South Africa’s digital infrastructure is already well established and extensively developed, growth in South Africa is predominantly driven by worsening grid reliability. There has, however, been some growth in demand for internet services and remote conferencing infrastructure due to the increase of people working from home during the Covid pandemic. Chronic systemic problems at Eskom have led to grid unreliability and decreasing confidence in Eskom’s ability to provide continuity of supply in the short to medium term. This creates an imperative for companies to provide their own robust backup power, significantly boosting the demand for gensets.
In spite of the fact that solar and wind generation have been on a downward cost curve for the last decade and have become more cost-effective alternatives, internal-combustion-powered gensets remain the “go to” backup power solution for most companies. Gauteng remains the largest provincial economy by far in South Africa and is home to the largest concentration of genset builders. A web search for “industrial generators Gauteng” produces over a million results. This demonstrates clearly that the buoyant market for gensets is attracting a plethora of entrepreneurs to the industry in search of easy profits.
The strong growth in the market for gensets in Gauteng and the rest of South Africa is easy to understand against a background of ongoing power outages, both scheduled and ad hoc. Losses to South African businesses due to scheduled power cuts alone are estimated to amount to in the region of R1 billion per load shedding stage, per day. The pressure is on commercial and industrial entities to provide backup to mitigate these losses. The least capital-intensive solution to this problem remains the installation of a diesel-powered genset. It is also a solution that can be installed relatively rapidly. Diesel gensets are a well understood, mature technology especially when compared to the comparatively new renewable energy alternatives.
There is a tendency for the purchase of a genset to seen as a “grudge purchase”, comparable to taking out insurance. With the prospects for an improvement in grid reliability being rather bleak, many companies are being forced to make the investment to avoid the alternative of being without power. Once the decision to invest is made, who do you turn to that you can trust to give industry-leading advice, products, and service?
As already mentioned, a web search for ”industrial generators Gauteng” throws out a huge list of prospective suppliers, all of whom claim to be “experts” and ”the best”. The “industrial generators in Gauteng” search provides an impossibly long list of potential suppliers. It does not really help narrow the list down to the handful of vendors that are in fact “the best” and the true experts in the manufacture supply and installation of large industrial generators. Buying industrial generators represents a large capital investment, so it is imperative to get it right the first time.
Generators are simple in concept but complex in design and execution. The larger the industrial generator, the higher the degree of complexity becomes. The higher the complexity becomes, the higher the risk of unforeseen issues becomes. When specifying large industrial generators, even fundamental questions such as the size of the genset required demand a wealth of experience and a high degree of technical skill.
Industries that rely on a large number of electric motors to run various processes in their facilities can be particularly challenging technically. Electric motors can use over six times their rated run capacity for short durations on start up. Various steps are taken to mitigate the negative effects of the spikes in demand created when these motors start. This includes variable speed drives (VSDs) and other “soft start” devices. The downside of these measures is that they sometimes create harmonics that stress the electrical network, potentially damaging electrical equipment.
Poor harmonics may cause electrical infrastructure, such as transformers, motors, and cables to overheat, resulting in nuisance tripping and damage to digital controllers. Adding an incorrectly specified genset to the mix will invariably make matters worse. Experienced and competent industrial generator suppliers know how to deal with these issues. For example, industrial generators can be specified and supplied with permanent magnets or auxiliary windings to provide the genset with up to three times its nominal current capacity to cover inrush peaks. A variety of advanced solutions such as digital automatic voltage regulators (D-AVRs) are available for diesel gensets, allowing the genset to be sized for run loads and not the start-up peaks. This substantially improves efficiency and lowers running costs.
Although entrepreneurial spirit should be encouraged, the strong demand for industrial generators has encouraged a host of new companies to enter the marketplace, particularly in Gauteng. The downside is that many of these companies literally do not know what they are doing. This is especially true in the large capacity end of the market. Finding an offshore manufacturer in China or Turkey and importing a range of gensets does not make a company a genset specialist. At the very best, it makes the company a logistics specialist.
PacB is a long-established genset specialist renowned in the industry as a manufacturer of superior-quality large generators. When it comes to specifying industrial generators, significant technical knowhow and experience are a prerequisite for purchasing and installing the correct solution. At PacB, we will assist with the design and manufacture of any genset, including the control systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), AMF (Automatic Mains Failure), and ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) systems and all the additional components that an installation may require.
We have expert knowledge and experience of all the main controller brands in the industry. At PacB, we are able to design and manufacture Synchronous PLC controlled panels for multi-station generator supply over a vast range of system sizes and voltages, including systems in excess of 1000 kVA. Do not search for “industrial generators in Gauteng.” Explore our website and engage with the real experts.
Our qualified technicians offer support and advice in the selection of the right power solution for your needs by calculating your power requirements.