Vestas move to South Africa

Vestas

Vestas, the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, is set to bolster wind energy in Africa after it was announced that the company would be establishing a permanent office in South Africa.

The company, that is originally from Denmark, has in recent years been opening plants in the US and around other parts of Europe in a bid to convince companies and governments to invest in a green energy future. However this is the first time the company has gone to Africa.

In a statement from central Europe president Hans Jörn Rieks, Vestas said, "Vestas sees southern Africa ‒ and South Africa in particular - as key emerging markets for us and as leaders in the development of wind energy in Africa."

The company's move to Africa coincides with South Africa's latest wind energy endeavour at Coega in Port Elizabeth. The Coega wind farm utilises a Vestas V90-1.8 MW turbine and is being developed by Belgian energy developer Electrawinds in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM)

The site made headlines before the FIFA World Cup after it was announced that the stadium in Port Elizabeth would be powered by wind energy at no cost during the tournament.

The company's business development director Jan Dewulf said last year, "A key part of the plan is that World Cup matches played at the new stadium will be the first in history powered by renewable energy, as the first wind turbine will be up and running in time for the start of the event."

Electricawinds, meanwhile, is pursuing a joint partnership with the Coega Development Corp. (CDC) in order to construct 25 wind turbines in the region. In total Electrawinds has invested 1.2 billion Rand in the project, and each of the 25 wind turbines would have a capacity of 1,8 MW, which translates into an annual yield of 5.7 million kilowatt hours, which was said to be enough energy to power about 1700 households.

Completion was scheduled for 2011, and once completed the wind farm would supply the NMBM with about 45 MW of green energy. The electricity generated by the wind farm would be fed into the national grid and would be distributed by NMBM to households within the area.

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