Johannesburg. — The ever-deepening energy cooperation between China and South Africa, especially in fields of renewable energy, will become a new driver of economic and trade cooperation between the two nations, industry analysts said.
"Energy cooperation between China and South Africa is mutually beneficial and win-win. It is believed the two parties will further deepen energy cooperation, trade and investment, especially in that of renewables, in the days to come," said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
According to Lin, while China is vigorously developing renewables at home, South Africa is also working on an ambitious green energy transition, incorporating new energy as a means to resolve the African nation's ongoing power crisis.
South Africa has faced rolling blackouts in its power grid since 2003, caused by insufficient electricity generation.
The cooperation, Lin said, will also help South Africa overcome its energy challenges while reigniting its economic growth.
Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, South Africa's ambassador to China, was quoted as saying by Reuters that China's advanced and affordable technology could help South Africa achieve its energy goals.
South Africa is willing to learn from China in terms of green development and energy transition. Cooperation can make a tangible contribution to addressing our energy challenges and starting our economic recovery, he said.
South Africa is seeking affordable solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage and renewables technology from China, its electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was quoted as saying by Reuters in June on the sidelines of a South Africa-China energy conference.
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Many Chinese companies have become involved in South Africa in recent years, helping alleviate the local power crisis and ensure stable grid operation.
The De Aar Wind Farm in South Africa, the largest such project in the country, which is financed and operated by China Longyuan Power Group Corp, a subsidiary of China Energy Investment Corp, has facilitated South Africa's low-carbon transition while easing its energy shortage -- a major problem delaying the continent's industrialization. The Chinese company also constructed the project.
The wind farm has provided 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean power a year since it went into operation in 2017. That is equivalent to power provided by 215,800 metric tons of standard coal, Longyuan Power Group Corp said.
The farm has not only met the power needs of more than 300,000 households, but also optimized the local energy network while further facilitating the green and low-carbon transition in South Africa.
Power Construction Corp of China, or PowerChina, a Beijing-based State-owned enterprise, signed a contract to build a 123-megawatt photovoltaic project in South Africa in July.
Once completed, the project will provide approximately 300 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to the South African national grid each year. - ChinaDaily.com
