“It is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about the significance of wind energy. I wish it helps more people to understand how wind farm projects operate and their positive impact on our lives.”
These are the words of Jun Cho, Red Rocket’s Performance Engineer, on the importance of Global Wind Day.
Having worked at Red Rocket since doing his studies shows his passion for the sector and spreading the word about how wind farm projects operate, as well as their positive impact on our lives.
Engineering the Future of Wind Power
As a Performance Engineer, Jun is in charge of our wind projects in the development and operational phases, performing yield calculations and layout designs with the vision of ensuring technical feasibility during wind farm project development.
“I use correlations between weather data collected from on-site weather stations and technical data from contractors to predict the future production of wind farms. It is great to be in a position where I can design something impactful and large. It is like assembling Legos, but on a much bigger scale,” he said.
Navigating the Unpredictability of Nature
Among the challenges he sees facing projects, severe weather is one of great concern for sites with such tall structures. He notes the past two wind years as a period that has not been favourable for wind energy in South Africa.
“One of the core challenges of wind power projects is the inherent unpredictability of wind, which can lead to underperformance in some years. Also, natural disasters such as lightning strikes and cyclones create significant threats. Due to the impact of global warming, weather patterns are becoming increasingly difficult to predict, which creates a direct impact on wind energy projects’ performance.”
Socioeconomic Benefits and Carbon Credits
Nevertheless, he sees the construction of more wind projects as a chance that could create more job opportunities, thereby helping to address some of the country’s socioeconomic problems.
“As South Africa has not yet adopted a green credit system, there is potential for more financial benefits from our projects by selling carbon credits in South Africa earned by generating renewable energy.
“I hope our projects run smoothly without any major incidents. Ideally, lightning and cyclones will stay at bay, allowing our wind farms in South Africa to operate safely,” he said.
