00:05In Pumalanga province, coal mines have powered South Africa's economy for more than a century.
00:11Now in that same coal heartland, giant wind turbines are spinning into action.
00:17South Africa is working to build cleaner capacity without undermining energy security or local
00:23livelihoods.
00:24President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the site as the first phase entered commercial operation.
00:31We stand here to congratulate Siriti Green, a proudly South African company, as the Umbila
00:41Emoieni wind farm enters into commercial operation.
00:47Siriti is a company that we are very proud of.
00:53A company with a proven track record in South Africa's coal industry.
01:00A young company of less than 10 years old, which remains the foundation of our country's
01:07energy production.
01:09The 155 megawatt wind farm is expected to generate around 480,000 megawatt hours of electricity
01:18a year.
01:18That is enough renewable power for roughly 500,000 homes.
01:23The wind turbines have been switched on here at South Africa's newest renewable energy site
01:29in an area surrounded by coal-fired power stations.
01:32This farm will churn out clean energy onto the grid, which has long been fed by electricity
01:38produced from coal, marking a new era in South Africa's energy journey.
01:42Siriti partnered with Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind on the project, bringing international
01:50green technology into one of South Africa's most coal-dependent regions.
01:54It has been proven in practice that Chinese enterprises are not merely visitors from afar,
02:03but partners deeply rooted in South Africa.
02:06More and more Chinese enterprises are working hard to contribute to South Africa development.
02:15Goldwind supplied 25 wind turbines in this first phase.
02:20This project will generate 5.8 million megawatt hours of clean energy, helping avoid around
02:306.5 million tons of carbon emissions.
02:35Together with our partner, we have also helped create more than 2,000 local employment operators
02:45across project development, construction, operations, and the local supply chain.
02:54For coal-dependent communities, the central question is whether renewable projects can deliver
02:59enough long-term work to offset risks as South Africa's energy mix evolves.
03:05The president was highlighting just now is making sure that our impact is still felt even when
03:10we are done with the construction and we are just going into operations.
03:13And even if we have to move into another city or another region, we want to make sure that
03:16there's still activity based on the projects that we have done already.
03:19Coal remains central to South Africa's electricity system and to Impumalanga's economy.
03:25But as Sereti Green builds towards 900 megawatts of total capacity,
03:31Umbila Imoyeni will test whether private investment can transform the country's coal heartland
03:36without leaving its communities behind.
03:42Coal remains central to Canada's countries where the opposite of Estee Green in Europe
03:44inç·¨
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