The Makana Municipality in Grahamstown may be turning green even with the severer water shortages it faces as its dams run dry. Though it is unclear from this article what specifically the “Memorandum of Understanding” is,it is great to hear that renewable energy and wind power is drawing more attention in South Africa.
Is Grahamstown going green?
MAKANA Municipality,Rhodes University and wind energy operator InnoWind yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) indicating their support for and commitment to a proposed wind farm on the outskirts of Grahamstown.
It is envisaged that the wind power generation facility will utilise unique wind turbines to provide Grahamstown with an alternative,renewable and environmentally friendly source of electricity.
Makana municipal manager Ntombi Baart yesterday said the signing of the MoU was “significant” and expressed the municipality’s commitment to the proposed project which would benefit all in Makana.
She said the proposed Makana Winds of Change Education Trust,which would hold a 26percent stake in the wind farm company,would also be a direct benefit to the Makana community.
InnoWind MD Martin Diaz Webb said the signing of the MoU was a symbolic but important and practical first step. He added that the first draft of the environmental impact assessment would be published next week for public scrutiny and comment. But he emphasised that there was still a “long way to go” before the project could be completed.
Webb described the project as a “reference project” for the country and said the formation of the trust and the involvement of the community was “unusual in the energy sector” and served to “democratise” the provision of electricity.
Rhodes University representative Jaine Roberts said Rhodes was very pleased to be a “knowledge partner” as well as part of the broad-based empowerment trust.
Webb later told the Daily Dispatch that the wind farm was a unique opportunity to generate electricity “cleanly and closely to where it is consumed”. –BY ADRIENNE CARLISLE
If this commitment toward wind power is realised then Grahamstown could be one of the leading South African towns when it comes to green energy. However they still seem to lack the commitment to conserve their water supply.
Besides it’s historical significance Grahamstown is well known for being a student town with Rhodes University and many well know South African high school calling it home. With many of these student campuses dotted around the town,Grahamstown’s educational buildings lend themselves well to grey water sanitation (grey water recycling for flushing toilets). Maybe Grahamstown will make a strong commitment to water conservation before it turns to a dessert town
