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South Africa's first commercially available, wind-generated electricity could be lighting homes soon
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March 03, 2005, 17:45
By Christmas, South Africa's first commercially available, wind-generated electricity could be lighting homes in the Western Cape. A R70 million project has come closer to reality with the approval by the department of environment affairs and tourism of a plan to erect four wind turbines on a farm near Darling in the Swartland.
The four Danish designed models will look similar to turbines installed by Eskom for a research project. They will sit on a hill on the aptly named Windhoek farm. It is estimated that demand for electricity could outstrip supply within two years. And government has committed itself to producing 4% of its requirements as renewable energy by 2012. Herman Oelsner, the man who dreamed up the project, says the wind farm will deliver 5.2 megawatts - enough to light a town like Darling.
The Danish government is backing him with a whopping R20 million and that's just the start. “The South African Wind Energy project, through the Global Environment Fund will mobilise about R400 million to be spent on wind energy to the tune of 50 megawatts capacity," said Oelsner.
The British government has promised R20 million for a training centre on the farm once the Western Cape department of nature conservation gives the go-ahead.
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