Maybe THIS system could give Nelson Mandela Bay’s residents a ‘Double Whammy’ as it also produces water – a critical need for the metro which has suffered from droughts since the first day colonialists settled in the area.
For many years now Nelson Mandela Bay has been facing the TWIN EVILS of Load and Water Shedding. Residents lives revolve around checking load shedding schedules and carrying water to and from from Water Tankers.
The Leaper Innovate Green Energies (LiGE) energy storage system utilising compressed air could be the answer to these TWIN EVILS as the only by-product of this system is water.
According to Warwick Leaper; “The amount of water released by a 1 MW unit is dependent on many factors including location, relative humidity and depth of recharge the unit is performing at the time, so on average the water generated is a by-product of the operation and is not the intended operation of the unit, however, the calculation is based on a RH of 50% and a power charge from depleted to full would be in the region of 2 250 litres per 4 hour operation, should you require the unit to produce water continuously this would be in the region of 10 560 litres a day. If the RH rises to 100% this would more than triple.”
This particular compressed air storage system is proudly South African developed and patent registered by Leaper Innovate Green Energies (Pty) Limited which holds 2 patents on this technology as submitted by IP owner/designer Warwick Leaper:
- South African patent filed 2012 granted 2014 – 2012/07661 Energy Supply System
- PTC patent filed December 2017 – 2017/08356 – Compressed Air Energy System and Apparatus
LiGE estimate a 65% saving on the CLIENT’S electricity bill when connected to the grid with a Retirn on Investment (ROI) of 6.5 years when comparing to grid power usage.
A 30 year life-span is estimated for the systems which are scalable from 50Kwh to 1Mwh storage.
Chat to Straton Solar about this innovative energy storage system.
The LiGE Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is about to be installed in a number of sites after being introduced to Australia by Queensland-based Essential Water and Energy Services thereby unlocking the potential of CAES as a scalable energy storage system for clean intermittent sources with a long lifespan and low-cost.
CAES is not a new technology, of course. The first system (290 MW) was installed at Huntorf, Germany, in 1978 and is still in operation today. In 1988, the Alabama Electric Cooperative’s 110 MW CAES plant also began operations in North America. CAES has become a more feasible solution in the last year and several large-scale projects have been announced in the United States, Israel and Canada.
The LiGE is a zero-emissions air battery that can be linked to the grid or a renewable energy source to provide clean energy and even clean water.

Video: Could THIS be Nelson Mandela Bays Saving Grace?

