South Africa is a key market to watch in the wind sector, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).It is already the largest wind market in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of installed capacity, and as Africa’s third-largest economy, the focus has once again turned to renewable energy in recent weeks as Eskom took to the country to Stage 6 load-shedding. Despite the potential for wind and renewable resources, the energy mix remains reliant on fossil fuels, with nearly 90% of electricity generation derived from coal and peat. Wind, however, holds huge potential, being the largest source of clean power, and currently providing 2.5% of electricity generation.Already around 3 024MW of wind capacity is installed and connected to the grid. The GWEC is forecasting that South Africa will add another 5.4GW of new wind capacity over the coming five years to the end of 2026. A total of 668MW was installed in 2021.This is good news for the local project cargo sector which has been under pressure in recent years due to the limited number of projects taking place in the country.With a single wind turbine requiring at least nine abnormal loads to get to site – along with the scope and size of the planned projects – it will inject much-needed life into the local project cargo sector, says Philip Warren, managing director of African Route Clearance Consultants.“There is real interest in the renewable energy sector – and not just wind. While many of the solar voltaic projects do not really require any abnormal transport, the solar power towers involve significant abnormal loads,” he told Freight News.But, said Warren, it was not just in South Africa where interest in wind and solar was growing. “Many of our neighbouring countries have also felt the pressure that Eskom is under and have realised they need to find solutions for their countries, breaking any dependency that they might have on Eskom, which was one of the largest power utilities in the world only ten years ago.”Warren said driving through Zambia and Tanzania, several sites had been identified for wind farms. The Pensulo Wind Farm, a 130MW onshore wind power project, will be the first wind power plant in the country when constructed, and one of the largest on the continent. In Tanzania, work at its first wind farm was completed in May. The 2.4MW project was funded by a loan from the United Kingdom.In South Africa, the town of Laingsburg has been the most recent focus of wind power where the Karusa Wind Farm went into commercial operation at the end of June.According to the GWEC, South Africa’s strengthened commitment to phase out coal will see more wind farms going up in the years to come. Already the latest round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P) received 38% more bids compared to the previous one, and this was amidst the global pandemic.“South Africa’s vast wind resource is still largely untapped, presenting an attractive opportunity to IPPs, investors and community stakeholders,” said a spokesman.
