Why Integrated Systems Are Critical To South Africa’s Renewable Energy Expansion

South Africa’s renewable energy sector is expanding rapidly, but delivering projects on time involves more than installing generation equipment. As projects become larger and more complex, the integration of protection systems, automation, data collection and grid-compliance systems is becoming an increasingly important part of project delivery.

A fragmented approach, where different suppliers manage separate elements of a renewable energy project, can create mismatched designs, conflicting interfaces and delays during commissioning. For developers and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, these challenges can add costs and push back the date when a project can begin supplying electricity to the grid.

According to Herman Mare, General Manager at ACTOM Smart Technologies, the industry needs to move away from siloed engineering as renewable projects become more sophisticated.

“This is the gap ACTOM Protection & Control’s Secondary Plant Integration (SPI) solution is designed to close,” says Mare. “By consolidating secondary systems under a single accountable partner, the SPI provides an end-to-end approach that supports compliance, reduces risk and accelerates energisation.”

The challenge of fragmented secondary systems

Secondary systems are essential to the safe and efficient operation of renewable energy plants and substations. They include protection systems, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), automation, communications and other systems that monitor and control the plant.

When these systems are designed and supplied by multiple vendors, coordination can become difficult. Each supplier may test its equipment independently, without having complete visibility of how it will interact with other systems once installed.

According to Mare, problems that are not identified during individual testing can emerge during integrated testing, when resolving them is more expensive and time-consuming.

“When mismatches arise between plant-level systems and substation controls, teams must identify where the problem originates. This can lead to duplicated troubleshooting and extended periods where the site stands still,” he says.

For renewable energy developers, such delays can increase accommodation, travel and contractor costs while potentially pushing back a project’s commercial operation date.

Moving towards an integrated approach

An integrated secondary plant approach brings multiple functions into a coordinated system. Rather than managing protection relays, SCADA, plant data acquisition, communication interfaces and grid integration separately, these elements can be designed and tested within a common engineering framework.

This can help ensure that protection schemes and logic work with plant-level systems, while SCADA and automation functions are aligned with substation requirements. Communication systems can also be configured to support both plant operations and grid requirements.

The approach also allows potential problems to be identified earlier in the project lifecycle.

For Mare, the value lies in ensuring that the different components work together before equipment reaches the project site.

“By engineering the entire system under one roof, the solution removes the mismatches that typically emerge when multiple vendors work independently,” he says.

Testing before equipment reaches the site

One of the key elements of an integrated approach is Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT).

Rather than testing individual components in isolation, an integrated FAT can assess how the different systems operate together before equipment is transported and installed at the project.

According to Mare, this allows engineers to verify system logic, communication pathways, plant signals and other interfaces in a controlled environment.

“Solving issues in the factory is significantly faster and more cost-effective than resolving them on site,” he says. “By the time the equipment arrives at the project, the system has already been proven, reducing commissioning risk and shortening the path to energisation.”

For developers, the ability to identify and address integration problems before installation can provide greater certainty around project schedules and costs.

Compliance remains critical

Grid-code compliance is another important consideration as South Africa adds more renewable generation to its electricity system.

Projects connecting to the grid must meet technical and operational requirements, including those relating to protection, communications, control and data. Misalignment with these requirements can result in additional testing, redesigns and delays to grid connection.

Mare says integrating compliance requirements into the design process from the beginning can reduce the risk of costly changes later.

“SPI addresses this challenge by embedding Eskom logic, communication protocols and compliance requirements into the design from day one,” he says. “This proactive approach prevents last-minute redesigns and ensures a smoother approval process.”

The case for greater accountability

For developers and EPCs, having a single integration partner can also simplify project management. A clearly defined point of accountability can reduce uncertainty over which supplier is responsible when systems do not communicate as expected.

It can also streamline communication between engineering teams, reduce duplication and help resolve problems more quickly during commissioning.

“With SPI, all engineering, testing and site services are delivered by one team that understands the full system,” says Mare. “This creates a more predictable project environment and reduces the risk of unexpected delays.”

As South Africa continues to expand its renewable energy capacity, the focus is increasingly shifting from simply adding new generation to ensuring that projects can be integrated reliably into the electricity grid.

That makes coordination between protection, automation, communications and control systems an important part of the renewable energy equation. Greater integration at the design and testing stages could help developers reduce project risk, limit costly commissioning delays and bring new generation capacity online more efficiently.