The renewable energy sector is not falling, says power utility Eskom.
This after a social media video clip depicting a broken and falling wind turbine at Klipheuwel Wind Farm went viral yesterday, with social media users saying it was symbolic of the falling renewable energy industry.
Yesterday, Twitter user @solarboygenius posted this video captioned: "Rather symbolic - the fall of Renewables at Eskom. Will miss you, Klipheuwel wind turbines."
Following the post, Twitter exploded, with one user saying: "It must be too expensive to dismantle them piece by piece? Otherwise it seems like a waste to just let them topple like that."
In response, the power utility issued a statement saying it wishes to clarify the misconceptions created by the video clip on social media depicting the decommissioning of one of three wind turbines at the Klipheuwel demonstration plant near Cape Town.
"This is an acceptable method that can be employed for the disposal of a wind turbine structure that has reached the end of its economic life-cycle."
The turbine in question was one of three installed at the demonstration plant by Eskom in 2002 to conduct research into the potential of wind energy generation, as well as to evaluate the different wind-based technologies and their economic viability, it says.
In July 2016, Eskom announced that one of the three turbines earmarked for decommissioning would be used for practical training at the South African Renewable Technology Centre, a renewables training facility in SA.
It was donated by Eskom and provides an opportunity for further learning and skills development in the industry. The remaining two turbines were disposed of through Eskom's commercial processes.
Eskom notes it continues with its initiatives aimed at reducing our carbon footprint. One of these is the organisation's first large-scale renewable energy project, the Sere Wind Farm, based near Vredendal in the Western Cape, it points out.
The Sere plant adds 100MW to the national power grid and will contribute to saving nearly six million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its 20 years of expected lifespan. Brought into commercial operation in 2015, the project is one of the largest wind energy projects in the country.
Eskom decommissioned the Klipheuwel Wind Farm in July last year. It says for the past 13 years, the wind farm served as a valuable research facility for wind energy technology and contributed 3MW to the Eskom plant mix.
According to the South African Wind Energy Association, in just three years, SA has become the largest wind power producer on the continent, generating 1.4-gigawatts from 600+ wind turbines. Wind power avoids the power-related use of water by around 600 million litres each year.
Although SA's renewable energy sector has widely been hailed as a success, Eskom's continuous delays in signing new power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers has put a spanner in the industry.
However, energy minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced last month that she would sign the PPAs relating to 26 large-scale renewable energy projects on 28 October.
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