South Africa’s above-average onshore wind resources and lack of a clear government policy framework are the main reasons the country has yet to venture into offshore wind energy.database
It found that offshore wind farms could produce 44.52 terawatt hours of electricity if turbines were installed in shallow waters with depths of less than 50 metres, and 2,387.08 TWh with wind turbines in waters further offshore and around 1km deep. SAWEA explained that South Africa’s land boasted an average wind resource that surpassed that of many other countries.
Connecting onshore wind farms to the transmission grid is easier because of the proximity to existing infrastructure.“The CSIR report indicates that although offshore wind has reduced significantly and will continue to reduce, as of 2020, bottom-fixed offshore wind was 91% more expensive than onshore wind, while floating fixed offshore was 308% more expensive,” SAWEA said.
For other commercial activities in the country’s waters — such as fishing, recreation, conservation, and mineral exploration — government must first issue permits. In 2023, the World Bank began studies to create an Offshore Wind Roadmap for South Africa, which is due to launch in 2024.report estimated that South Africa has the potential of 852GW of floating and 49GW of fixed offshore wind plants,” SAWEA said.