As the festive season draws closer, South Africans are breathing a sigh of relief, given the reprieve in perennial load shedding which has dogged Africa’s most industrialised economy, condemning countless jobs and worsening the scourge of poverty particularly among the poor.
It has been a significant more than 210 days of no-load shedding across South Africa and an upbeat Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told journalists in Pretoria last week that this can also be attributed to the role of Independent Power Producers that have connected to the grid since 2011.
Also, in a written parliamentary reply, Ramokgopa has recently told the National Assembly that unlike previous years, South Africa will likely have a festive season with no load shedding.
Apart from the Eskom generation fleet "showing more reliable performance going into summer of 2024”, Ramokgopa told the Legislature that the Eskom fleet would also be assisted by new generation capacity in line with the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), including the conversion of the open cycle gas turbines (OCGT) from diesel to gas.
South Africa is structurally shifting towards less reliance on burning diesel to power its electricity generation, and Ramokgopa said billions of rands, as much as R12 billion, has already been saved this year.
IOL has toured the trailblazing Longyuan South Africa’s De Aar Maanhaarberg wind farm operating in the Emthanjeni Local Municipality, Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, in Northern Cape province – which is a US$273.2 million investment by China Longyuan Power Group Limited.
Longyuan Power, is the largest wind power producer in China and Asia, and the company is a partially owned subsidiary of the State-owned China Energy Investment Corporation headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.
Longyuan South Africa Renewable (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) Longyuan Power Group, has been at the forefront of renewable energy development in South Africa.
Longyuan South Africa was registered in South Africa in March 2011. The company has invested in, constructed and operates two wind farms in South Africa with a total investment of approximately R5.18 billion and a combined installed capacity of 244.5MW.
The Chinese company focuses its efforts on development, construction, and operation of renewable energy projects, particularly wind farms.
Among its notable achievements is the completion and operation of the Longyuan De Aar Project, which represents a significant milestone in Africa’s renewable energy landscape.
With 163 wind turbines installed, Bin Sheng, deputy general manager at Longyuan South Africa Renewables (Pty) Ltd told IOL that the working turbines are equivalent to saving 215,800 tonnes of standard coal per year.
Delving into the turbines, Sheng said each unit weighs 138 tonnes with the nacelle alone weighing 61 tonnes, and each single of the three blades weighing 6.3 tonnes.
The nacelle is the outer cover which houses all of the generating components on the wind turbine. It covers components including the generator, gearbox, drive train, and brake assembly.
At the highest point of the wind farm, the turbine nicknamed Goliath stands firm – 80 meters long and forming part of the formidable 163 similar giant turbines.
With his three blades hissing to the passing wind, sending much-needed units of electricity to the mini substation, Goliath symbolises the enormous scale and proportion of the ambition defining the Longyuan endeavour in South Africa.
“Regarding the wind turbine power generation, the centre of the wind turbine hub is 80 meters above the ground,” Sheng narrated while showing visitors around the vast land farm.
The media tour of Longyuan South Africa Renewables’ project was also attended by South African media personalities including hip-hop/rap artist Mzayifani Mzondeleli Boltina, better known as iFani, founder of Africa4Nuclear, Princess Mthombeni known by many as “Princy”; digital content creator Cynthia Matlaila; Cape Town based digital content creator Devon “Devdondidit” Saunders; and digital content creator Zeus Feni.
In the past few years, Longyuan South Africa Renewables has been assisting local communities through corporate social investments which has seen millions of rand paid monthly towards the upkeep of the Mthuthuzeli daycare, the Sonder Sorge Old Age Home and the Merino park sports facility in the community.
Most importantly, the community in De Aar embrace Longyuan for the job creation opportunities in the far-flung community with very little to no employment opportunities.
Deswin Basson is the proud operations and maintenance officer at Longyuan in De Aar, thanks to the generous scholarship he received from the Chinese company to study electrical engineering at Tshwane University of Technology.
“I have been with this company for almost five years now. My home town is not far from here, I am from Prieska.
“At this farm we convert wind energy into electrical energy. We then transport that electricity to Eskom. The electricity we produce here is then distributed into the homes of South African consumers by Eskom.
“Between the two Longyuan farms here, we power over 300,000 households,” said Basson.
He said working on the wind farm brings he most job satisfaction as he knows that his efforts contribute significantly in reducing load shedding.
“I became part of this project because I was part of the community. I was a beneficiary of the wind farm. They sponsored me with a scholarship. I wanted to be part of the people that helps the community. That was why I wanted to be part of this company,” Basson told IOL.
“I studied electrical engineering at Tshwane University of Technology. Ever since I joined this company, I have seen a lot of difference because of the positive impact and positive transformation that has happened because of the wind farm. From sponsoring schools to sponsoring a mobile clinic, getting young people off the streets by building the sports ground – those are some of the things they have dome in the community.”
A subsidiary of China Energy, Longyuan Power Group Company Limited (Longyuan Power) was founded in 1993. It is the largest wind operator in the world and the first specialised firm that produces wind power in China.
South Africa, like many countries across the world, is battling to secure adequate energy to cater for growing populations and ever-increasing industrialisation, amidst loud lobbying and calls for the abandonment of coal.
Traditionally, coal has been the mainstay of the vast energy system in South Africa, meeting around 70 percent of the African economic giant’s power generation capacity.
IOL