The wind power sector in South Africa now faces a “transformative juncture”, highlighted South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Niveshen Govender in his opening address at the Windaba 2023 conference and exhibition, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, on Wednesday. The sector had to navigate this juncture to reach a brighter, more sustainable future for wind power in the country.

Globally, wind power had become a major contributor to efforts to address climate change, he observed. This year had seen worldwide wind power capacity reach one terawatt (1 000 GW).

In South Africa, since Windaba 2022, the public independent power producer procurement programme's bid window 6 had had very disappointing results for the wind sector, SAWEA chairperson Dhesen Moodley pointed out in his speech. And wind energy projects from bid window 5 have had difficulty in achieving financial close. On the other hand, wind power projects for the private sector had been successfully implemented.

“Wind energy has a significant role to play in [South Africa’s] new generation capacity,” affirmed Govender. Although wind was only part of the long-term solution to the country’s energy needs and energy transition, its deployment needed to be accelerated. South Africa needed “a lot more wind, a lot faster”.

The planned new national electricity framework would provide the wind sector with major opportunities. And more wind farms in the country would create the opportunity for better planned and greater localization, he pointed out. Currently, South Africa accounted for some 33% of total African wind power capacity.

“A constrained grid remains the number one deterrent” to the immediate expansion of wind generation capacity in the country, he noted. Much of SAWEA’s focus over the past year had been on grid constraints, as well as on environmental impacts, among other things. Eskom had shown commitment to addressing grid constraints for all renewable energy sources.

“Windaba is not a forum for consensus,” asserted Moodley. “It’s a testing ground.”