Windmills have been around since 200 years BC and were first used by the Chinese and Persians.
Most people associate them with Dutch windmills, and those scattered across Mzansi which pump groundwater for agriculture.
But in recent years they’ve been adapted to produce electricity in areas where there is strong and frequent wind.
South Africa has a few wind farms as part of the South Africa Wind Energy Programme (SAWEP) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in support of the Government’s plan to promote and commercialise large-scale wind energy projects.
One of our first wind farms to go operational is the one near Darling in the Western Cape where four turbines feed 8 million kWh of green electricity into the grid.
It was developed with funding from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
This wind farm sells its green electricity to the City of Cape Town, and a private entity.
Its four turbines have the capacity to feed eight million kWh into the grid.
With many consumers wanting to become independent of supply from Eskom, there has been an uptick in small residential wind turbine set-ups that are available on the market.
Apart from generating power, wind turbines also help reduce the use of water and fossil fuels, since both are needed in vast quantities to keep power stations running.
As South Africa adopts new technology and alternative energy sources, including solar and wind power, opportunities are opening up for the supply and installation of wind turbine systems for the home, which experts believe will help create sustainable jobs.