Graaff Electric Lighting Works
Graaff Electric Lighting Works | |
---|---|
Hydro-electric | |
Secondary fuel | Coal |
Turbine technology | Steam turbine, Hydropower |
Cooling source | Reservoir water |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 2 |
Nameplate capacity | 300 kW[1] |
External links | |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Graaff Electric Lighting Works power station is a decommissioned
History
The plant was the first hydro-electric plant in South Africa and first power plant in Cape Town. It was the second electric power plant in South Africa. The city of
The plant was named after
The plant had two 150 kW generators which could be driven either by steam or water power. Water to power the generators was supplied from the Woodhead Reservoir on Table Mountain. For the twelve months before 30 June 1896 the plant ran for 2590 hours on water power and for 691 hours on coal fired steam power.[1] The plant powered 775 public street lights throughout the city of Cape Town.[2]
The plant was decommissioned in 1920 and declared a national monument in 1993.[2]
Current status
The power plant building still stands at the west of the Molteno Dam and is a registered national monument. In 2015 plans were announced to renovate the building so as to house a “Museum for ‘water heritage’”. However officials also stated that since the site sits close to the reservoir it is unlikely that the site will ever be open to the public due to security concerns.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "About - Company Information". heritage.eskom.co.za. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
- ^ ISBN 978-2-36195-140-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Measuring Worth - real cost in 1895 vs 2017". 2018-08-02.
- ^ Mccain, Nicole (2017-02-28). "Green routes to link park and gardens". News24. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
External links
- Media related to Graaff Electric Lighting Works at Wikimedia Commons