Chinese technology illuminates homes in South Africa

In a vast, semi-arid region near Postmasburg, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, construction of one of the country’s largest renewable energy plants is nearing completion.

The trial phase of the Redstone Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project is expected to begin soon and will ultimately generate enough energy to power 200,000 households in South Africa, thereby significantly reducing the country’s acute energy shortage.

In recent years, the main area of ​​cooperation between China and South Africa has been energy. During President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Africa in August, in the presence of Xi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the two countries signed a series of cooperation agreements in Pretoria, including agreements on emergency power supply, investments in renewable energy and modernization of Africa’s southern power grids .

Since Xi’s visit, work on the Redstone Power Plant has accelerated, with a steam generation system and a solar energy collection system now completed. Trials are expected to begin this month, with full launch scheduled for the end of the year, said Xie Yanjun, deputy director and chief engineer of the project, which is being carried out by SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co, a subsidiary of PowerChina.

Gloria Kgoronyane, a resident of Jroenwatel village located near the project site, said she was looking forward to the commencement of operations of the Redstone plant and hoped that more plants could be built to alleviate the severe energy shortages that were adversely affecting her life. for the last few years.

“Since 2022, load shedding has become more frequent, and my village now experiences two to four-hour power outages every day,” she said. “We can’t watch TV, and sometimes the meat in the fridge rots due to weight loss, so I have to throw it away.”

“The power plant uses solar energy, a very clean energy source, to generate electricity, which is in line with South Africa’s environmental strategy,” Xie said. “By helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will also significantly reduce energy shortages in South Africa.”

South Africa, which relies on coal for about 80 percent of its energy needs, has been struggling with a severe energy shortage in recent years due to aging coal-fired power plants, outdated power grids and a lack of alternative energy sources. Frequent load shedding – the distribution of electricity demand across multiple power sources – is a common phenomenon across the country.

The nation has pledged to phase out coal-fired power plants and pursue renewable energy as the main means of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

During Xi’s visit last year, which was his fourth state visit to South Africa as China’s president, he emphasized intensifying bilateral cooperation in various areas, including energy, for mutual benefits. As the first African country to join the Belt and Road Initiative, South Africa signed a new agreement with China during the visit to strengthen cooperation under the initiative.

Nandu Bhula, CEO of the Redstone Project, said South Africa-China energy cooperation under the BRI initiative proposed by President Xi in 2013 has strengthened over the past few years and has brought benefits to both sides.

“President Xi’s vision (for BRI) is good because it supports all countries in developing and improving infrastructure,” he said. “I think it’s important to work with countries like China that can provide expertise in areas where the country is in desperate need.”

Referring to the Redstone project, Bhula said that by working with PowerChina and using cutting-edge technologies to build the plant, South Africa will increase its ability to build similar renewable energy projects on its own in the future.

“I think the expertise they bring to the table in concentrated solar energy is fantastic. It’s a huge learning process for us,” he said. “Thanks to cutting-edge technology, the Redstone project is nothing short of revolutionary. It can provide 12 hours of energy storage, which means it can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week if needed.”

Bryce Muller, a quality control engineer at the Redstone project who has worked on coal-fired power plants in South Africa, said he hopes such large renewable energy projects will also reduce load shedding in the country.

Xie, the project’s chief engineer, said he believes as the Belt and Road Initiative is implemented in South Africa and other countries, more renewable energy projects will emerge to meet growing energy demand and decarbonization efforts.

In addition to renewable energy, China-Africa cooperation has expanded to a wide range of areas, including industrial parks and vocational training, to support the industrialization and modernization of the continent.

During his meeting with Ramaphosa in Pretoria in August, Xi said China was willing to use various cooperation platforms such as the China-South Africa Vocational Training Alliance to step up bilateral cooperation on vocational training, promote exchanges and cooperation on youth employment , and help South Africa develop much-needed talent for economic and social development.

During the meeting, both presidents also witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements for the development of industrial parks and higher education. On August 24, during the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue co-hosted by President Xi and President Ramaphosa in Johannesburg, Xi said that China firmly supports Africa’s modernization efforts and proposed launching initiatives to support industrialization and agricultural modernization in Africa.

In Atlantis, a town about 50 kilometers north of Cape Town, an industrial park established more than 10 years ago has transformed the once sleepy town into a major manufacturing base for household electrical appliances. This created thousands of employment opportunities for residents and gave a new impetus to the country’s industrialization.

Hisense South Africa Industrial Park, in which Chinese appliance and electronics manufacturer Hisense Appliance and the China-Africa Development Fund invested, was established in 2013. Ten years later, the industrial park produces enough televisions and refrigerators to meet almost a third of South Africa’s domestic demand, and exports to African countries and the UK.

Jiang Shun, general manager of the industrial park, said that in the past 10 years, the production base has not only produced high-quality electrical appliances at an affordable price to meet local demand, but also developed skilled talents, thus promoting the industrial development of Atlantis.

Ivan Hendricks, an engineer at a refrigerator factory in the industrial park, said “made in South Africa” ​​also promotes technology transfer to local people, which could result in national brands.

Bhula, CEO of the Redstone Project, said: “China is a very strong partner for South Africa and South Africa’s future will benefit from cooperation with China. I only see improvement in the future.”