The growing number of wind farms in the Eastern Cape is paving the way for jobs at the cutting edge of renewable energy technologies.
Wind turbine service provider Altitec has opened SA’s first training academy and begun training turbine blade technicians to service and maintain wind farms in their own provinces.
Some R56bn of investments in wind farm projects announced recently include new projects mooted for the Eastern Cape – which now boasts total wind energy capacity of more than 700MW (megawatts).
Altitec, which has already performed repairs and maintenance at Amakhala Emoyeni, Dorper and other wind farms in the province, currently imports technicians into the Eastern Cape, with some having to be brought in from outside the country.
Wind farm turbine blades require regular inspection to be maintained at high standards to retain their successful longterm operation, cost-efficiencies and financial returns.
“Ideally, where possible, local teams of technicians should be deployed to service and maintain wind farms in their own areas,” Altitec SA managing director Tom Dyffort said.
He said its Cape Townbased academy provided the opportunity for more Eastern Cape residents to be trained as highly skilled and well-paid turbine technicians servicing the wind farms in the province.
“The training facility will help reduce operational costs in the South African market by building a local capacity for blade repair and eliminate the need to fly technicians into the country, which adds time and costs to a project,” he said.
“In addition, having qualified turbine blade technicians maintaining wind farms increases the reliability and efficiency of turbines, and extends their useful life.
“This increased capacity allows owners and operators to meet their costs more easily, and so leads to a lower cost of energy that can be passed on to consumers.”
South African Wind Energy Association CEO Brenda Martin said the country’s renewable power market had already procured more than 6,000MW since 2015.
“Within this, wind power produces over 50% of total renewable power, with more than 900 wind turbines generating renewable electricity into the national grid,” she said.
“As a significant foreign direct investment contributor, a driver of local socioeconomic growth and providing the major share of the country’s renewable energy power, wind power is a direct contributor to SA’s economic growth.
“The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme is regarded as one of the most ambitious and successful publicprivate-partnerships SA has ever undertaken.”
Martin said the renewable energy programme had created 35,532 direct full-time equivalent [FTE] person years of employment to date.
“In addition, it is anticipated that almost 110,000 direct FTE person years of employment will result over these IPPs’ 20-year agreements.”
She said a new bid window to be announced in November could bring in a further R40bn to R50bn of investment.