New energy projects resolving South Africa's power woes

South Africa is seeking affordable solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage and renewables technology from China, its electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was quoted as saying by Reuters in June on the sidelines of a South Africa-China energy conference.

Many Chinese companies have become involved in South Africa in recent years, helping alleviate the local power crisis and ensure stable grid operation.

The De Aar Wind Farm in South Africa, the largest such project in the country, which is financed and operated by China Longyuan Power Group Corp, a subsidiary of China Energy Investment Corp, has facilitated South Africa's low-carbon transition while easing its energy shortage — a major problem delaying the continent's industrialization. The Chinese company also constructed the project.

The wind farm has provided 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean power a year since it went into operation in 2017. That is equivalent to power provided by 215,800 metric tons of standard coal, Longyuan Power Group Corp said.

The farm has not only met the power needs of more than 300,000 households, but also optimized the local energy network while further facilitating the green and low-carbon transition in South Africa, it added.

Power Construction Corp of China, or PowerChina, a Beijing-based State-owned enterprise, signed a contract to build a 123-megawatt photovoltaic project in South Africa in July.

Once completed, the project will provide approximately 300 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to the South African national grid each year.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn