SA's first wind farm switched on
2008-05-23 11:05
Troye Lund
Cape Town - South Africa's first wind farm has been switched on.
The R75m national demonstration project in Darling in the Western Cape is the first "green energy" initiative in the country to produce electricity from wind power on a commercial basis.
The Darling Wind Farm has four wind turbines which can supply 5.2 megawatts of electricity. All the electricity produced will be sold to the City of Cape Town as part of a long-term power agreement with the city.
Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica launched the project, which has been developed by the Darling Independent Power Producer (Darlipp), the Development Bank of South Africa and CEF, a company that manages renewable energy on the government's behalf.
The Danish government's International Development Assistance (Danida) programme is also funding part of the project.
Speaking at the switching on ceremony, CEO of Darling Wind Power, Hermann Oelsner said: "The country has the potential to generate electricity from wind in excess of its current total national power consumption and without the harmful effects of fossil fuel and nuclear-powered generation plants."
- Fin24.com
- Finance24