Renewable energy sector needs investors

Minister of Energy Tina Joematt Pettersson during the closing of South African International Renewable Energy Conference(SAIREC) at Cape Town International Convention Centre, Western Cape. South Africa. 05/10/2015. Siyabulela Duda

Minister of Energy Tina Joematt Pettersson during the closing of South African International Renewable Energy Conference(SAIREC) at Cape Town International Convention Centre, Western Cape. South Africa. 05/10/2015. Siyabulela Duda

Published Oct 8, 2015

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Johannesburg - Delegates at the renewable energy conference in Cape Town have called for more investments by the private sector, saying this would push the government to invite more players.

The conference ended on a high note yesterday, with Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson telling delegates that renewable energy was the future of the country.

In the department’s annual report tabled in Parliament, Joemat-Pettersson said the renewable energy programme has added much-needed capacity to the grid.

She said that for South Africa to grow the industry, more private players had to come to the party.

During the visit to one of the wind farms on the outskirts of Cape Town yesterday, government officials, investors and private players said the role of the private sector was crucial in the country.

The chief executive of the West Coast One wind farm, Christiaan Swanepoel, said the plant had provided much-needed power to the grid.

The plant, which boasts 47 turbines, producing 94 megawatts, came on board in December last year when they connected to the grid.

Swanepoel said there was enough power on the wind farm to supply 100 000 households a year. “The lifespan (of each turbine) will be 20 to 25 years, but you can renew it. You can put in new gearboxes, you can also put new blades on the turbine,” he said.

The West Coast One wind farm was one of several sites visited by delegates yesterday to see how renewables power the country.

The farm has 47 transformers with one transformer for each turbine.

The plant was constructed over 21 months, with most of the material imported from overseas.

The connection to the grid took several months to be completed, said Swanepoel.

Officials on the wind farm said they completed the project on time. Despite the challenges, everything was done to finish off the project on the scheduled date.

In the annual report, Joemat-Pettersson said that since 2010 when they started with the renewable energy programme, they had seen some progress in additional capacity to the grid.

The more players there were, including the independent power producers, the better for the future of the industry as well as energy security for the country.

The private sector had pumped billions of rand into renewable energy projects over the past five years.

Joemat-Pettersson said in the report that more private investments were still needed.

While the government had invested R1 trillion in infrastructure in the past five years, it wanted to spend a total of R4 trillion in infrastructure development over the next 15 years, she added.

THE STAR

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