'Wind can power 70% of SA'

The incentive tariff of R1.25/kWh for electricity from wind power will remain purely theoretical if nobody wants to buy the power at that price, says Dr Eddie O'Connor, chief executive of Main-stream Renewable Energy. He says government and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa still have to issue rules on exactly how the incentive tariffs will work.

O'Connor says a study commissioned by Mainstream shows that South Africa potentially has sufficient wind power to meet 70% of the country's electricity needs.

But this will depend on whether Eskom grants power producers access to its grid and whether the utility will buy electricity at the prices required to cover wind farm developers' risks.

He says South Africa has favourable wind conditions because the wind blows primarily in the daytime and at peak times.

Mainstream, an Irish company, entered into a partnership with the local Genesis Eco-Energy enterprise with a view to developing wind farms.

O'Connor says they are working on projects of up to 3 000MW. This is the amount of power that a city like Cape Town requires.

Mainstream wants to build the wind farms and will consider selling them to domestic pension funds, Eskom or municipalities.

Government's integrated resource plan provides for only 400MW of wind power in terms of the import tariff model for renewable energy announced last year. No purchase contract in terms of this programme has yet been concluded with Eskom.

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