Farms play their part in energy transition

The wind power sector in SA is playing a critical role in the country’s energy mix and is a vital component to stabilise Eskom’s national grid electricity supply and as a cornerstone for economic growth, boosting localised employment and mitigating climate change’s existential threat to all life.

SA’s energy transition for large-scale renewable wind power projects is being pioneered by China’s stateowned energy company Longyuan, in concert with its black economic empowerment (BEE) partner, the Mulilo Group. The R5.18bn energy investment, including R2.7bn spent on local procurement during the construction phase, is split across two nearby sites situated in the country’s geographical heartland near the Northern Cape town of De Aar.

The two energy farms comprise a combined 163 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 244.5MW, or equivalent to the power needs of 85,000 households, while offsetting 619,900 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The wind farms, known as De Aar One and Two, are recognised as essential ingredients for SA’s energy transition from fossil fuels to generate 17,800MW/h from renewable energy sources by 2030.

The Longyuan Power Group was founded in 1993 and has become the world’s largest wind energy producer; its track record is exemplified through China’s Gansu wind power facility which generates 670,870MW/h, holding the title of the world’s largest wind farm.

The Longyuan Power Group, which falls under the wing of China’s state-owned CHN Energy, is a world leader in renewable energy. It operates 222 wind farms, including De Aar, 76 solar power stations, two thermal power stations and two biomass power plants, as well as one tidal and one geothermal plant. The group’s businesses stretch across 31 of China’s 34 provinces, as well as renewable energy operations in Canada, SA and Ukraine. The group is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

As part of Longyuan Power Group’s wind energy bouquet are 13 offshore power projects in the waters off Jiangsu and Fujian provinces, with the energy plants designed to withstand typhoon weather events.

Four years after Longyuan’s successful bid in 2013 for De Aar’s two sites, the clean energy project was connected to the Eskom grid in 2017. The speed from the power plant’s inception to completion glosses over the wind farms’ construction scale.

A Longyuan Mulilo representative said wind farms were not simply “duplicated”, but each individual project does provide “valuable insights”.

“It is essential to take into account the specific context, choose the strategies that have proven successful, and then adapt and improve on them to ensure they are appropriate,” the representative said.

To overcome the rugged and inaccessible terrain to site the 163 turbines required building a 158km road system and connecting 168km of overhead power lines. The construction used 7,100 tons of steel rebar and cast 57,000m2 of concrete. The clean energy produced displaces the equivalent of burning 215,000 tons of coal annually.

The De Aar energy farms are the first wind power project in Africa to have been independently funded, built and run by a state-owned power generation company.

De Aar’s renewable energy project leases land from local farmers and has created a valuable alternate income stream for farmers previously relying on raising livestock on the arid land for an income.

Fifth generation farmer Fritz Battenhaussen signed a 25-year land lease with the renewable energy company that has no detrimental impact on his livestock farming activities.

He said: “When the wind blows, we make money. Our payment is based on power generated and sold to Eskom. It’s a very small percentage but it’s from 96 turbines. It’s quite a lot of money.”

The payments have increased Battenhaussen’s annual turnover by about 30% and, unlike livestock farming, poses less financial risks and also acts as a welcome buffer against farming’s notoriously fickle returns.

One of 10 local farmers benefiting from the land leases, Battenhaussen said: “We were surviving before, but this has made it much easier.”

The wind project’s road construction has also improved the farm’s livestock management, where previously livestock access by vehicles was prevented by the harsh topography.

The land lease places no other obligations on farmers beyond allowing access to the wind turbines by maintenance crews or any other official Longyuan Mulilo activity, but it does not prevent farmers providing voluntary and unpaid assistance to the project.

“They can go in and out of the farm when they want to. We have a bit of problem with veld fires so we make sure fires are put out. We all do — they (Longyuan Mulilo staff) and us,” Battenhaussen said.

Sheng Bin, Longyuan Mulilo De Aar’s renewable projects safety production and technology department manager, said although largescale solar farms can be erected within a few months, as opposed to the few years for wind farms, the advantages of wind farms sited in optimal conditions, such as De Aar, is energy production both night and day.

The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) acknowledges wind energy plays a significant role in the country’s renewable energy matrix and was part of the solution for SA’s transition from fossil fuels to green energy, adding the rider that SA needs “a lot more wind (power), a lot faster”.