Delays in energy deals threaten jobs
The wind power sector is expected to boom, possibly mirroring US
SOUTH AFRICA’s fledgling wind turbine training programme will be “skilling its graduates for unemployment” if construction on the next round of state-commissioned wind farms doesn’t begin within the next year.
This is the warning from Naim Rassool, the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec) director at CPUT, as Eskom continues to delay signing the contracts that will set the price at which it will buy electricity from the plants, through Power Purchase Agreements.
Until the contracts were signed, private firms couldn’t begin construction of the sites, Rassool said.
The delays threaten skills development in the sector, as well as the future of Saretec, which has been funded by the state to the tune of R105 million since 2012, he said.
The Department of Higher Education and Training launched Saretec in 2012, in response to the anticipated growth in the renewable energy sector.
Rassool said the domestic job market for wind turbine service technicians would soon become saturated, leaving graduates unable to find employment.
It would also jeopardise the future of the training centre, one of only “five or six globally” that had a 2.5 megawatt wind turbine housing and associated components, supplied by manufacturer Nordex Wind Power, on site for training.
The first intake of trainees was in February last year. Thirty graduates have passed through the five-month training programme and completed two months of practical work in the field. All the graduates have been absorbed by the domestic industry.
The wind-power sector is expected to boom, possibly mirroring growth in the US market, where the job is the fastest growing occupation, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.
The anticipated domestic growth follows the implementation of the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme in 2011, when the department began commissioning private energy firms to build and operate 96 renewable energy plants in the country.
Half the number of plants – mostly using solar and wind energy technologies – have been built and are operational, feeding energy into the national grid.
Construction on the next batch of 26 plants, including solar and wind sites, is on hold.
Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said the power utility and the departments of Energy, Public Enterprises and National Treasury discussed the matter and a decision would be made soon.
“In the interim, it is important to note that Eskom recognises the role renewable energy plays in decarbonising South Africa, creating jobs and attracting foreign investment,” he said.
Eskom had signed 64 power purchase agreements for a total of 4 000MW under the REIPP programme and two agreements for the open-cycle turbines for a total of more than 1 000MW.
“Eskom has agreed to sign PPAs until bid window 4.5, should the prices drop to 62c/ kWh. Therefore, the notion that Eskom is against renewables is inaccurate, malicious and mischievous.”