Travel through the shrubland of the Karoo, across the flat, arid landscape, and you’ll see little sign of sustainable livelihoods or hope - with one exception. Rising from the desolate landscape are large rotor blades, like aerodynamic airplane wings, turning in multiple revolutions per minute on tall metal shafts. These are state-of-the art wind turbines, many of them newly built and operated by the Chinese Energy subsidiary, Longyuan SA Renewables.
With the turbines generating about 750 megawatts annually, that means a lot of households to light up - and more sustainable livelihoods as a result. Around 300 000 households, to be precise.
On October 29, 2013, the Department of Energy announced that Longyuan South Africa Renewables had successfully won two wind power projects in the Northern Cape - Longyuan Mulilo De Aar Wind Power (RF) (Pty) Ltd and Longyuan Mulilo De Aar II North (RF) (Pty) Ltd - with the total investment worth over R5 billion.
Wind power may not sound like the most sustainable energy source – either in scale or cost. But for anyone who’s not seen one in operation, the results can be impressive. The windfarms are vast fields of turbines that turn quietly. There are no carbon emissions – in contrast to the coal-fired plants they are replacing.
The infrastructure and investment required to scale up a windfarm do not come cheap, but the expense pales by comparison with the benefits to the economy, livelihoods and the environment. Most windfarms in South Africa are small to mid-scale operations that require massive investment capital. By comparison, Longyuan’s project takes the form of several turbines in vast wind farms, assembled and installed in partnership with local contractors and under the guidance of Chinese expertise.
“The employees are members of local communities,” says Longyuan South Africa Renewables CEO, Wei Chen. “Many also receive basic training in the building and engineering skills that the project needs – skills which will serve them and their communities well beyond the project.”
That’s the challenge taken up by Longyuan in South Africa. The company’s passion for renewable energy is matched only by its inventiveness in harnessing the Northern Cape’s natural resources to the scale of energy required by local communities.
In a country facing multiple power cuts every day because of an energy shortage, and in an area as poor as the Northern Cape, this is a real game-changer. Two big problems - poverty and climate change – are tackled with one solution: renewable energy.
Five of the area’s regions now boast windfarms, either in operation or under construction, and their effect has been dramatic. The local community is understandably proud of the project; it is a large oasis of hope in the heart of a desolate landscape. Hailed as a model of clean energy co-operation among BRICS, the project has delivered one million kilowatt hours of clean power. Wei says the project integrates investment and construction, and has assisted the domestic equipment, technology and services sectors; technical exchanges and co-operation; and has promoted community development. “With a combined production output of 244.5 megawatts of power, the wind turbines can soundly supply clean renewable energy to the local area, meeting the electricity demand of local households. The clean energy generated by the project will substitute 215 800 tons of standard coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 619900 tons, and promoting clean and low carbon developments,” adds Wei.
“And this is not even accounting for all the associated benefits in terms of employment.
“The construction and operation of the De Aar Project is used by Longyuan SA to spread the development fruits to the South African people, and to help build a better and happier South Africa.”
To put that in perspective, Longyuan SA places great emphasis on the value of talented people, developing their potential and empowering their development. In 2021, the company continued to select and dispatch “domestic business backbone talents” to work in South Africa, providing a broad stage for employees to showcase their talents and realise their values.
“We adhere to retaining and utilising local talents. The construction and operation of the Longyuan De Aar Project has created more than 700 local employment opportunities, alleviating local employment pressure and improving local living standards. The talent reserve in the wind power industry of South Africa is insufficient, and based on this, Longyuan SA takes many measures simultaneously to encourage local employees to conduct further study in social education institutions, and we reasonably arrange holidays and reimburse the training expenses for such employees in order to inspire their learning enthusiasm.
“We also arrange for Chinese employees to discuss the learning content with local employees, and we provide detailed instructions based on the practical work, sparing no effort to train a group of grassroots-level technical talents for the development of the energy industry in South Africa.”
The De Aar Project has become one of the only large-scale renewable energy projects in South Africa registered in accordance with voluntary emission reduction standards. To this effect, Longyuan has successively signed and completed the first carbon trading contract and the largest single carbon trading contract of Longyuan Energy's overseas projects, fulfilling its low-carbon commitments with practical actions.
“In 2021, we employed a third-party environmental protection agency to carry out long-term and continuous monitoring of birds, bats and vegetation,” explains Wei. “We also established a system and team to co-operate with the relevant audit of the government environmental protection authorities, and we set up relevant environmental protection facilities as required.”
He adds that Longyuan SA will “continue to take advantage of experience in the field of wind power, and will forge ahead to constantly promote relations between China and South Africa toward a higher quality, wider field and deeper level.”
About Longyuan Power - a global renewables giant
Longyuan South Africa Renewables was established in 1993 with a view to solving South Africa’s energy supply challenge and reducing its carbon footprint. The company is responsible for implementing the overall development strategy of China Energy, aimed at building a world class energy company that is globally competitive.
China Energy Investment Corporation Ltd, which ranked 107 in Global Fortune 500, is the parent company of Longyuan SA, with registered capital of over $20 billion, total assets of over $285 billion, and over 350 000 employees globally. It is the world’s largest producer of wind electricity and coal-to-liquids/chemicals products.
Longyuan Power was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in late 2009. Known as the first Chinese stock of renewable energy, the company has become a large comprehensive power group owning and operating a variety of renewable power generation projects including wing, solar, thermal and geothermal power.
By the end of 2020, the total installed wind power capacity of Longyuan Power exceeded 22 303 megawatts, making it one of the largest renewable power operators by output in the world. Its business has a footprint in 32 provinces, regions and autonomous cities in China, South Africa, Ukraine and other countries.