Lubricants to prolong renewable energy equipment lifespan

International oil and gas industries company and platinum sponsors at this year’s African Utility Week, Shell, will be focusing on the promotion of its commercial lubricant products at the event, which can aid in maintaining equipment used in renewable- energy generation.

As the country goes through tough economic times and companies are facing growing costs for their equipment maintenance, all eyes are on reducing costs and increasing machine run time. Shell lubricants were designed with cost saving in mind to maxi-mise equipment efficiency, prolong engine life and reduce downtime, resulting in companies spending less on the maintenance of engines, operating longer and earning more profit, says Shell direct sector business-to-business marketer Tendani Ndwamise.

“We will have a number of products on exhibit at our stand, which have all been fully approved by a number of original-equipment manufacturers,” he notes. These include gas and diesel engine oils, transformer oils and turbines.

Ndwamise explains that great pressure has been placed on South Africa’s power utility to meet energy demands. The need for independent power producers has become dire and the importance of the role of renewable-energy sources has increased significantly. In order to meet this demand, the number of gas engines using unconventional fuels such as landfill, bio or sewage gas has grown significantly. While renewable-energy sources are friendlier on the environment and also more sustainable, they also run on bigger engines that are costly to maintain. This has made it more important for Shell to develop the right kind of oils to improve engine maintenance and performance for these specialised applications, she says.

“Shell is delighted to be a platinum sponsor for African Utility Week for the second year running. We have seen the benefits of this partnership first-hand. “We look forward to engaging with the African Utility Week attendees again to discuss our unique offerings to the power sector and we hope that African Utility Week will be an important milestone for further development of a safe, reliable and sustainable power supply in Africa,” Ndwamise concludes.