S. AFRICA DAIRIES TO MILK COWS, WIND

Farming dairy cows and energy all at the same time
Terence Creamer, April 2, 2009 (Creamer Media Engineering News)

"…After a number of informal and formal discussions, [dairy farm owner Mark Holliday], who has had farming interests and experience in the UK, met up with Genesis Eco-Energy and its operations director, Davin Chown, which eventually culminated in an agreement that opened the way for a feasibility study [of the New Energy potential of the 600-cow dairy].

"Wind monitoring masts were deployed to gather crucial wind conditions information, along with an environmental-impact assessment and a range of other regulatory and commercial negotiations…the 30-MW [joint venture with Irish wind-energy developer Mainstream Renewable Power and Barclays Capital] will be “construction ready” by early 2010…"

Happy cows, rich farmers. (click to enlarge)

"…the Eastern Cape development, dubbed the Kouga wind-energy project, would be the South African-European alliance’s first South African project, and a key test case for its larger 500-MW ambitions for the country by 2014…Mainstream, which has a growing international project pipeline spanning four continents, has taken 85% of the venture and will lend its experience, capital and fundraising muscle to Genesis’ local knowledge…Should all the projects proceed across about 20 sites, the total investment, calculated on about R22-million a megawatt, would be about R11-billion…

"But the South African projects would also hinge materially on the outcome of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) deliberations regarding a so-called renewable-energy feed-in tariff, or Refit…The joint venture has made a submission to Nersa indicating that wind-energy projects would require the Refit to be set at around R1/kWh, as opposed to the 65c/kWh proposed in Nersa’s consultation paper…"

click to enlarge

"The tariff structure is being pursued in support of government’s target of having 10 000 GWh of renewable-energy projects in place by 2013…wind would require a higher tariff than a coal-fired station, [but] its inclusion into South Africa’s energy mix would also lower the overall risk associated with primary-energy price volatility…[and] reduce the need for peaking capacity, which is about three times more expensive… if the Refit is set at too high a level, it could also encourage suboptimal wind projects…

"Genesis is also pursuing a 50-MW project in the southern Cape…As with the case at Sunnyside, the wind facilities will coexist with farming activities, with farmers benefiting from long-term lease agreements...[on] turbines with capacities of between 2 MW and 2,5 MW, which it would secure from established vendors such as General Electric, Siemens and Vestas..."