The Global Wind Industry Council (GWEC) has set up a task force to speed up and facilitate the development of wind power in Africa.
The group includes Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), Africa Europe Energy Partnership, RES4Africa, Mainstream Renewable Power, Acciona Energia, GE, NRG Systems, DNV GL, Nordex, Goldwind and Aurora Wind Power.
Siemens Gamesa African market development director Jon Lezamiz will chair the task force.
The African wind market is set to add 6GW of additional wind capacity between 2019 and 2023, more than doubling current total capacity of 5.3GW, according to GWEC Market Intelligence’s Market Outlook Q1 2019.
Analyst Wood Mackenzie forecasts Africa will grow at an annual compound growth rate of 24% between 2019-2028, adding 33GW of new capacity.
Lezamiz said: “We at GWEC have not only an opportunity but the duty to share our global experience with Africa, to unlock the full potential of wind power and harness its development to enable economic growth and permit access-to-energy targets to be met in the continent.”
SAWEA chair Mercia Grimbeek said: “South Africa is perfectly poised to be the platform for the expansion of wind energy into the rest of Africa.
“We have the opportunity to use existing infrastructure and leverage off established regulatory frameworks to progress the development of wind energy generation”.
GWEC chief executive Ben Backwell said: “Africa has a unique opportunity to leap-frog obsolete fossil fuel generation and create the power generation it needs from wind power and other renewables technologies.
“If we can help create the right regulatory frameworks and knowledge transfer, Africa’s growing economies will soon be powered by cheap, efficient wind power.”
The new task force was established during the WindEurope Conference, held in Bilbao on 2-4 April.
The group will advise governments on regulatory frameworks and auction systems, develop and grandfather holistic approaches for accelerating private investment in Africa’s wind sector and will foster regional power pool discussions to maximize wind power development potential.
It will also measure and highlight the economic and social benefits of wind power and the development of local value chains, spread best practices and transfer knowledge from global established markets, as well as create appropriate forums to promote the growth of wind power in the continent, such as seminars, technical workshops, conferences and exhibitions.