By Brownwynne Jooste
The Western Cape has the highest wind speeds in the country, and Eskom plans to harness the full potential of this weather pattern as a long-term resolution to the persisting energy crisis.
The state-owned energy utility has put out a tender for the development of a commercial 100MW wind energy farm on the West Coast, north of the Olifants River mouth, near Vredendal. At this stage Eskom is applying for a licence and conducting environmental impact assessments.
The region around Vredendal experiences some of the highest wind speeds recorded in South Africa.
"The area supports other technical requirements for a wind energy facility, in terms of land availability and accessibility to the electricity grid to meet transmission integration requirements," said Eskom.
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The facility is expected to accommodate 50 2MW turbines, leading to the 100MW output. It's proposed that the turbines will be positioned over an area of 25km2. The completion date for the R1.1 billion project is set for late next year, or early 2010.
Meteorogical conditions are critically important, and a range of factors have to be considered for this type of facility, explained Eskom. These include the variation and consistency of wind speeds. Powerful gusts can damage mechanical equipment, while low speeds will be insufficient to produce any power.
Wind speed, turbulence and how wind is influenced by the surrounding terrain must be borne in mind.
"A 300km2 area of wind machines would be necessary to produce the same power generated by one large coal-fired or nuclear power station, assuming the wind blows all the time at roughly 50km/h."
Yet the success of the pilot project at the Klipheuwel demonstration farm bodes well for wind energy. The first unit started generating in August 2002, and the last one was up and running in February 2003.
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on March 02, 2008
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