The Longyuan Mulilo De Aar Wind Power project in the Northern Cape province reveals that the energy crisis in South Africa can be addressed strategically and through partnerships envisaged by BRICS and the Belt and Road initiative. Longyuan Mulilo De Aar Wind Power Projects
In the past few years, Longyuan South Africa Renewables has been assisting local people by creating jobs, and increasing the close bond that has been forged between China and South Africa.
A subsidiary of CHN Energy, Longyuan Power Group Company Limited (Longyuan Power) was founded in 1993. It is the largest wind operator in the world and the first specialised firm that produces wind power in China.
Guo Aijun, Director of Longyuan Power group said it was vitally important for Longyuan SA to be committed to renewable energy and to make a significant contribution to global green and low-carbon initiatives.
Longyuan Power has been ranked among the Global Top 500 New Energy Companies for nineteen consecutive years, and has an installed capacity of 31623.25MW, of which wind power claims 26317.04MW.
One of the Company’s subsidiaries Longyuan SA Renewables Proprietary Limited (Longyuan SA), is flying the flag high in the Northern Cape.
Guo said Longyuan SA participated in the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) had its first meeting in South Africa for the De Aar wind project in 2013 and later won the bid and rolled out the first phase at 100.5 MW and the second phase at approximately 144 MW.
“We started construction in 2015 and the project was put into operation in 2017. Each year we will provide 760 million KWH of power to the local community and that will benefit 300 000 consumers in that area. This is based on excellent project operations and a very good relationship with the local community,” Guo said.
He said the project is operating in optimal conditions, with 133 163 units, each providing 1.5 MW, and the Average annual utilisation hours is3100hours for the first phase is about 2500 and 2700 for the second phase.
Guo said Longyuan SA's Corporate Social Investment (CSI) responsibilities in De Aar span from fostering local economic growth to investing in education, healthcare, and social well-being.
“I think the power industry will support economic growth and this is very important for developing countries like South Africa. A stable power supply helps in job creation and for the Longyuan South Africa De Aar project we created more than 700 jobs during construction phase and during our operation annually we create a further 100 job opportunities.
“For the construction of the project only a quarter of the employees were sent from China, from China Energy’s headquarters. That means 75% of the employees are from the local communities. That talks a lot to the stability and economic growth,” Guo said.
In terms of strengthening technical collaboration between China and South Africa in the renewable energy sector Guo said the project was a really successful demonstration project for the China Energy Corporation.
“On the one hand it helped South Africa’s local economy and on the other it was our way to give back to the Belt and Road initiative and too intensified both country’s communication and connection. Such a successful demonstration project is very good for China Energy and for Longyuan as we were able to exert our advantages in several areas like in project operation, in personnel training, technical exchange and our branding. In the future we would like to see more cooperation like this.”
Guo said Longyan’s projects will have tremendous benefits for the planet and for future generations.
“South Africa and China in the past shared a similar energy structure with a large proportion of coal fired power generation but now our President Xi Jinping has said that we must achieve the ‘30/60’ goals peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.”
In September 2020, President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations General Assembly that China would strive to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Since then, the central government has made a series of major arrangements to achieve the "30-60" Decarbonization Goal.
“This is a way of showing China’s responsibility to reduce carbon emission and for the De Aar wind project it will help to reduce carbon emission and increase clean energy supply - this can be done by adjusting the energy structure,” Guo said.
*It is nicknamed the “First Chinese Stock of New Energy” and was successfully listed on the A+H share market. Longyuan Power or (the Company) has grown to be a sizable, all-encompassing power company with a concentration on the creation and management of new energy. Longyuan Power’s generation of wind, solar, biomass, tidal, geothermal, and thermal energy projects span across continents and has benefited overseas nations such as South Africa, Canada, and Ukraine.
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