Whither the Karoo?: Noupoort on the move

By Phakamisa Mayaba

The Siemens 2.3MW wind turbines loom like extraterrestrial imports among the flat-topped koppies on Noupoort’s otherwise featureless plains. Enormous, all 35 of them, almost futuristic, surrounded by the usual, unpretentious features of sparse shrubbery, uniform matchbox houses and windpompe on this prehistoric Karoo promenade. An imposing 99 metres tall, the long blades whirl sluggishly in the dusty gusts blowing through the eponymous 7 500-hectare wind farm located in this part of the Umsobomvu Local Municipality.

This is Noupoort Wind Farm. With its promise of employment, a few community projects for the townsfolk, and the life-saving injection it has jabbed into the local economy, it has been a hot topic ever since the R1.9 billion project was completed in 2016.

Also, because before the contracting companies had arrived, a R1500-a-month rent from lodgers was almost unheard-of in the local townships, Colerberg’s Kuyasa included. But this is what the newcomers were offering, backed by company assurances, and if you had a spare room or an RDP house it was a pretty good deal.

According to the slick Noupoort Wind Farm website, the 80MW wind farm generates some 304 800MWh of clean renewable energy per year, which can power up to 91 835 South African homes. The project also prides itself on being the ‘first wind farm to successfully achieve operations as part of the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)’.

According to this website, the site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, and straightforward electrical connection to the Eskom grid. With no apparent sense of irony, it goes on to say that studies also showed ‘there would be little environmental impact’ — in other words, Noupoort was partly chosen precisely for its desolation.

On his various visits to the Northern Cape, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated government’s big plans for the province, placing it at the forefront of the clean energy revolution. Calling it a ‘province on the move’ in July, ironically at Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley – which first opened its doors in 2014 – signifies a province that seems to be finally getting the attention it so desperately needs.

If gold is what built Johannesburg, it is energy that will bring Kimberley – today, despite its diamond mining past, largely a city of government buildings rather than an economic powerhouse – back to life. The province is home to 55% of the country’s solar developments as well as 25% of its wind energy projects. Also, its ‘world-class solar irradiation levels’ have ‘pulled in major investments, making the Northern Cape a hotspot for renewable energy growth.’

An aerial view of the De Aar Solar Power project. Image: De Aar Solar Power website.

The Northern Cape Green Hydrogen strategy was announced in 2021, and a master plan for a green hydrogen Special Economic Zone is being drafted. With ‘everything that is needed to make green hydrogen in large quantities: great solar and wind resources, lots of land and provincial and national governments eager to harness the energies of the private and public sectors,’ the Northern Cape does seem poised for a brighter economic future.

We assumed the Noupoort project was solely made up of the wind turbines. However, it turns out that, with sprawling solar panels on an adjacent piece of land, it’s a far bigger story. Add to this the panels already up in the nearby De Aar Solar Power project, and the grand idea seems to be taking shape.

However, even with projects of this magnitude, the social skirmishes and disparities will not disappear overnight. Since the expansion of the Noupoort project, we’ve reported on protests – some of which looked looked like they might turn deadly. Rocks and burning tyres were used to disrupt traffic along the N1 highway outside Colesberg. The bakkie of a local politician was torched, and tensions remained high between various political and civic interest bodies.

Many people feel that employment here is weaponised and political, and seems to favour members of certain political parties, as well as black rather than coloured people.

Noupoort’s unfamiliar traffic jam. Image: the author.

But for Noupoort, the opportunities are written in the traffic. Every morning an unfamiliar traffic jam snakes into town as scores of minibus taxis roll up to disgorge hundreds of employees from surrounding towns. Resembling a bustling city taxi rank rather than the quiet streets of an obscure railway town, this is where one realises that this is a project with the power to transform the areas as well as the lives of many of its inhabitants.

Indeed, this has already happened, especially for youths, previously reduced to nameless statistics in the country’s joblessness bloodbath. We see them every morning rising before the sun is up and huddled together along Kuyasa’s main roads awaiting transport. Doors have opened up to local subcontractors, taxi owners and security companies, resulting in more buying power for locals.

However, this boom is taking place amid dilapidated local infrastructure, the most glaring of which is the Noupoort railway station, vandalised and gutted, a sad reminder of its former glory as a major railways junction.

Noupoort’s gutted railway station. Image: Facebook.

This was meant to be an in-and-out report on the developments taking place in the place that many residents know as eNju. However, a few interviews with those on the periphery, and the story took on a life of its own. The technical information is available at the click of a button. But tracing the social impact would require some legwork, sitting down with the players – those at the forefront and those unseen – and documenting their experiences.

It soon became apparent that this was a heartbreaking story of development rubbing shoulders with things falling apart – one cat off to his next shift, while the next is ‘scrounging for her next meal’. Of course, progress is almost always a good thing — but besides those who’ve been kissed by its kind hand, we also need to give a voice to those who’ve been left by the wayside. Catch you in Part 2.

FEATURED IMAGE: Turbines at the Noupoort Wind Farm. Source: Noupoort Wind Farm website.

This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on Phakamisa Mayaba’s website, eParkeni. Used with permission.