For Luthando Nodada, Project Engineer at Red Rocket, being in the wind energy space for more than a decade has shown endless possibilities for the country and its future.
“Global Wind Day is a moment of reflection for each of the 11 years I have been part of the wind energy space and the journey that lies ahead to further contribute in harnessing wind to become the cheapest and cleanest energy to power the future of the world.”
What gets Luthando out of bed every day is the chance to support different parts of the energy business to engineer the best solutions for projects in different phases of development and execution.
Being in the field, one not only sees the benefits, but the stumbling blocks as well, he said.
“The challenge I foresee for wind energy on a global scale is sustaining the falling energy prices while keeping up with rising cost of materials used to manufacture the components that help generate wind energy, and navigating well-documented global supply chain challenges.
“On a regional front, some of the challenges include a shortage of investments to improve, among other things, logistical challenges such as the quality of roads in the areas where the components used to generate wind energy are deployed and upgrading the electricity grids for seamless integration of wind energy.
It isn’t all doom and gloom, however, as according to him, the country is blessed with a good wind resource, “which may benefit us as we deal with the immediate electricity shortage challenges if properly planned”.
“Apart from offering cheaper and cleaner energy, wind energy can help alleviate some of the socioeconomic inequalities prevalent in the country by ensuring that benefits extracted from the proceeds of wind energy are fairly shared with communities where the wind energy plants are located,” he said.
“My hope is that all our projects contribute to the alleviation of the energy crisis and bring about sustainable changes in the livelihoods across Africa. I hope to see more investments made in harnessing wind for the delivery of clean and affordable energy, especially in rural areas across Africa.
“I’m also looking forward to seeing a greater and meaningful involvement of communities where wind energy is generated, otherwise the touted transition is meaningless without significant involvement of these largely impoverished communities.”
