According to Garth Cambray, managing director of Makana Meadery, wind power has substantial advantages and provides an inexpensive, self-reliant method of generating electricity with relatively little maintenance.
According to Garth Cambray, managing director of Makana Meadery, wind power has substantial advantages and provides an inexpensive, self-reliant method of generating electricity with relatively little maintenance.
“When it comes to energy we basically have two options: either to burn coal or harness wind power. When we burn coal, in addition to the pollution caused by carbon dioxide you get the emissions of heavy metals like cadmium. If we’re doing wind energy then we at least won’t be guilty of polluting the atmosphere as much as we do through conventional energy production,” he said.
According to Cambray, a wind farm could have significant implications on the local economy through a partial community ownership initiative. Gregoire Verhaege, the CEO of InnoWind, a French wind energy company, has committed to financing 26% of the wind farm on behalf of an educational trust that will benefit Grahamstown. According to Cambray, the 26% community angle of the project will be managed by the Makana Winds of Change Trust, which will invest in local education. While a further 51% of the company will be financed by InnoWind discussions are underway between InnoWind and a local bank which could be suitable to umbrella local investments in the initiative. If investors are not available, it will be purchased by InnoWind completely.
A wind farm could also mean a different system whereby electricity is purchased by the national grid at a rate of R1.25 per kilo watt (kW) while the power used for town could be bought at approximately 30 cents per kW.
Apart from the potential economic benefits for Grahamstown, Cambray said the wind farm could provide accessibility to a more reliable power source. "As Eskom is in the process of unravelling, this is a better managed alternative and this power could be the only source of electricity available in five years time as maintenance and supply issues cripple Eskom," he said.
InnoWind have also been contracted to erect the 12 2-3MW wind turbines. Kevin Minkoff of InnoWind said the decentralised generation plant will provide a secure electricity supply to Grahamstown and the possibility for higher loads which in turn could encourage industrial growth. Furthermore, he said the project aims to increase employment and encourage skills transfer by contracting local labour for the building of the turbines. Cambray said the structures themselves have numerous benefits in that they are temporary. “The beauty of the wind farm is that it’s such an impermanent structure and there is no nuclear waste,” he said.
Unlike conventional fossil fuel power plants, wind farms emit no greenhouse gases as part of the energy conversion process, and when they are decommissioned they can be removed completely from the site, foundations and all, leaving no dangerous pollutants behind. The costs of setting up wind farms can be significant, but according to Minkoff high yield sites such as offshore wind farms have such low production costs that they can earn back the expense of installation and operation within eight years.
Cambray said a further benefit would be the improved image of Grahamstown as a clean sustainable town. “People will see our efforts and it might cause a knock-on effect. If people can see that we are doing our bit then they might get on board,” he said.
Although Cambray said the proposal received no resistance at a recent municipal meeting, there are some perceived drawbacks involved in utilising wind power. “The biggest concern people have had is about the noise of the turbines, but we will be using state of the art equipment which will produce basically no noise to the nearest dwellings. The new turbines that will be used are designed to make minimal noise, and their generators are well insulated so that these don’t make the whirring that older types of turbines make. The wind farm will be barely audible from the prison which is a few hundred meters from the closest turbine,” he said.
Another concern is that the turbines, due to their large size, could be an eyesore on the hills outside Grahamstown but Cambray said this is "really just a matter of opinion. I personally think they look quite beautiful and they are a signal of our commitment to helping the planet,” he said. In considering alternative energy sources, Cambray said one of the most common questions from the community is why solar power was not being used. “There’s a very simple answer to that. It costs 30 times more to install.”
Further perceived negatives associated with wind power include the potential damage caused to local bird and bat populations by the turbines that have been known to sever flying animals, but Cambray said this is not a serious concern. “By putting stripes on the blades, and by buying big, slow moving turbine blades such as the ones we plan to use, this can be reduced to barely 0 risk.” Additionally, Cambray said that although wind turbines do not constantly generate power due to the nature and fluctuations in wind levels, it can be used to heat up geysers when it is blowing strongly and these geysers can be turned off when levels fluctuate thanks to a municipal remote-control system that was installed in the 80s.
With regard to the environmental impact of the turbines, Cambray said although some pollution is emitted from the trucks and cranes during their construction, it is minimal when compared to the constant negative effects of regular electricity production such as the burning of coal. “What we have to remember is that wind power is not the ultimate answer to the energy crisis, but it is definitely a very useful interim measure,” he said. “In the end wind definitely wins. It’s not the perfect solution but it is much better than any other options so far. I would never have backed it the way I have if I didn’t fully believe this,” he said.
