The annual Windaba Conference and Exhibition 2021 will take place on October 7 and 8 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as part of celebrating the wind industry’s being operational in South Africa for ten years, says South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) chairperson Mercia Grimbeek.

“Windaba is the flagship event for Sawea, and we are fortunate enough to have a physical conference again. We’re celebrating ten years of Sawea’s existence, the roll-out of megawatts of wind energy that we have achieved and the roll-out of wind energy that we intend to achieve in the next ten years.”

She adds that Windaba allows for conversations that drive the deployment of renewable energy, particularly wind energy, in South Africa.

Sawea is conducting Windaba as a live event, as the event will have 200 members attending physically in accordance with the Covid-19 regulations.

She comments that the event will host sessions that will particularly deal with the development of the industry along with regulatory and environmental policy changes.

“We’re also looking at how green energy facilitates the production of green hydrogen, how that will facilitate the transition in the transport sector locally and abroad, and how South Africa can leverage its position as a supplier of renewable energy to harness the impact of the global economy on the sector.”

Grimbeek adds that Windaba enables government to interact with other key stakeholders in the local wind energy sector, particularly financial institutions and project developers. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is expected to address the opening plenary as well as the gala dinner, which she adds is always a highlight of the conference.

The event also provides an opportunity for original- equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to exhibit their technologies and network with local and global attendees.

Grimbeek stresses that Sawea is attempting to make these engagements at the event more interactive, including hosting a networking platform.

This engagement will be vital in the exhibition space for OEMs to showcase advances in wind energy technology, what is currently available in the industry and how this can be incorporated into South Africa’s wind energy deployment.

“This event is a celebration of the industry and we want to showcase the opportunities in the wind sector as it evolves. Sawea is also dedicating this year to the memory of former Sawea CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli, who passed away earlier this year.

“We are also highlighting areas of the internship programme we launched earlier this year. As we strive to achieve a just energy transition, we’re also highlighting what skills and training opportunities we want to evolve in the future.”

While Sawea would prefer attendees to be vaccinated, non-vaccinated individuals attending Windaba 2021 must produce a negative Covid-19 test, from 72 hours prior to the event.

“Most exhibitors and delegates preferred a live event to a virtual event, and we decided that we should plan a live event based on this. Even though we have limited numbers, the response has been extremely positive, and the conference is almost sold out,” states Windaba 2021 organiser Messe Frankfurt, Business Development and Portfolio director Tracy Gounden.

Wind Deployment

The most significant objective achieved this year is to advocate for an increase in the rate of deployment of renewables such as wind energy, says Grimbeek.

Sawea supports the ongoing implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the announcement that the threshold for installing embedded power without applying for a licence to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa has been increased to projects of up to 100 MW.

The association will continue to lobby for the continuous roll-out of renewables as per the Integrated Resources Plan of 2019 to ensure a procurement pipeline, adds Grimbeek.

She adds that the ongoing Bid Window 5, and upcoming Bid Window 6, of the REIPPPP will provide an opportunity to illustrate how the price trajectories of renewable energies, such as wind and solar, have decreased.

Wind energy projects can also be quickly and efficiently rolled out, as the average time required for construction and installation of a wind energy project is between 18 and 25 months, she asserts.

“Mantashe announced this year that renewables now make up 10% of energy generation in South Africa. This is not enough, as we look to shift from coal-based generation to renewables, but we need to celebrate these rapid deployments of wind energy and increase that roll-out.”

Grimbeek does, however, emphasise a challenge to rolling out more wind energy infrastructure – the lack of available transmission infrastructure, owing to State-owned power utility Eskom’s financial challenges.

These challenges have had an impact on Eskom’s ability to expand transmission infrastructure, reducing the wind energy industry’s ability to expand at a faster rate and geographically constraining the areas for power plant installation.

This geographical constraint is restricting certain provinces in South Africa from having wind energy deployed.

She states that Sawea has begun discussions with Eskom to establish a task team that facilitate collaboration between the two entities, and other key stakeholders, to address the challenges of grid infrastructure.

“By working together, Eskom can access funding to roll out the grid infrastructure.”