Wind energy on the up in South Africa

[Kevin Lancaster]

Wind energy on the up in South Africa

Wind energy is around half of all renewable energy currently produced in South Africa. As we lurch from one day of load shedding to the next, the sector is showing no sign of losing speed, rather the opposite.

 

[cyberbob1979]

Today, wind power contributed around 740 megawatts (MW) of electricity into the grid, “as a proportion of about 45 000 MW of all power installed in South Africa”.

Aren't we down to like 36GW of power now? and dropping fast?

 

[HavocXphere]

Thats actually pretty impressive. Close to a GW...

 

[ISP cash cow]

if they could just harness the wind that comes out of the politicians mouths we wouldn't need loadshedding

 

[ellyally]

Why aren't we building off coast, down south, where the wind never dies? or are we?

 

[Johnatan56]

Why aren't we building off coast, down south, where the wind never dies? or are we?

Difficult/costly to build transmission lines?
Also could be due to too strong winds, you want wind but not hurricane-like winds.

I think they should rather look at Google's kites: Makani.

 

[Marakker]

^^

Yep, all the hot air coming out of Parliament will make these babies rotate like hair dryers...

 

[furpile]

Today, wind power contributed around 740 megawatts (MW) of electricity into the grid, “as a proportion of about 45 000 MW of all power installed in South Africa”.

Aren't we down to like 36GW of power now? and dropping fast?

Eskom can currently not produce at 100%, but the installed capacity is around 45 GW. That is the maximum of all active power stations. Not long ago they struggled to provide 24 GW from that...

 

[atomcrusher]

if they could just harness the wind that comes out of the politicians mouths we wouldn't need loadshedding

Nice one. So true

 

[ellyally]

Difficult/costly to build transmission lines?
Also could be due to too strong winds, you want wind but not hurricane-like winds.

I think they should rather look at Google's kites: Makani.

Very cool

 

[Alastairo]

In Cape Town, if they put a wind generator near Steenbras Dam pumped storage system, it could continuously recharge the system without relying on Eskom to put the water back into the upper dam.

 

[mmacleod]

I think they would struggle, the wind here is too gusty. Wind power likes consistent strong wind.
There are a few a bit further up the coast though.

 

[HavocXphere]

In Cape Town, if they put a wind generator near Steenbras Dam pumped storage system, it could continuously recharge the system without relying on Eskom to put the water back into the upper dam.

You put the wind turbines where the wind is, not close to where power might be needed. Energy transmission is pretty efficient after all.

 

[Swa]

http://www.econvergence.net/product-p/eppawa-1.htm
I think they should just install these at all our police stations. Make their fat arses work for our country.

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

The average capacity factor for the entire fleet – as wind does not blow consistently – is currently over 70%.

I find that very encouraging. However it would be useful if not a little hard to understand and also to believe.

The article seems to be saying that the installed capacity in SA is just over 1 GW, and then the article claims that over a long time the system has actually produced 740 MW average (to get to the cited 70% capacity factor).

Tht claims is rather higher. I understand wind gen expected to attain about 40% capacity factor

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

Why aren't we building off coast, down south, where the wind never dies? or are we?

Here's the result of the survey : http://www.wasaproject.info/docs/metadataApril2014.pdf

 

[ThinkCentre]

The big advantage of wind generation is that it will work at night unlike solar power.

 

[fritzm]

I'm very sceptical of that 70% capacity figure. The values I've seen quoted in other countries are 25 to 30%. Although wind does blow at night, generally it is lower than in the day when you have temperature differences to drive it, so anything over 50% is pretty well impossible.
I'd love someone to follow up with the original interview and check what he actually meant.

 

[furpile]

I'm very sceptical of that 70% capacity figure. The values I've seen quoted in other countries are 25 to 30%. Although wind does blow at night, generally it is lower than in the day when you have temperature differences to drive it, so anything over 50% is pretty well impossible.
I'd love someone to follow up with the original interview and check what he actually meant.

Still looking for the original interview, but some more info on the capacity factor:

As of April 2011, the Danish wind farm Horns Rev 2[3] (the world's largest when it was inaugurated in September 2009[4] comprising 91 Siemens SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines each of 2.3 MW) with a nominal total capacity of 209 MW, has the best capacity factor of any offshore wind farm at 46.7% having produced over 1.5 years 1,278 GW·h.[5] The record for an onshore wind farm is held by Burradale, which reached an annual capacity factor of 57.9% for 2005.[6]

According to,[7] the average capacity factor for wind farms in 2008 was 21%.

So if they do reach 70% it will be quite an impressive new record.

EDIT: Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_South_Africa#Wind_power
Have an estimated and actual capacity factor for most wind power stations in SA, highest is 45%.

 

[furpile]

Also a nice comparison of capacity factors for different energy sources:

No power plant operates at 100% capacity factor. NREL’s new Transparent Cost Database shows the following capacity factors:

natural gas combustion turbines — Minimum: 10%; Median: 80%; Maximum: 93%
natural gas combined cycle — Minimum: 40%; Median: 84.6%; Maximum: 93%
coal, pulverized & scrubbed — Minimum: 80%; Median: 84.6%; Maximum: 93%
nuclear — Minimum: 85%; Median: 90%; Maximum: 90.24%
biopower — Minimum: 75%; Median: 84%; Maximum: 85%
hydropower — Minimum: 35%; Median: 50%; Maximum: 93.2%
enhanced geothermal — Minimum: 80%; Median: 90%; Maximum: 95%
solar PV — Minimum: 16%; Median: 21%; Maximum: 28%
offshore wind — Minimum: 27%; Median: 43%; Maximum: 54%
onshore wind — Minimum: 24%; Median: 40.35%; Maximum: 50.6%