The development of a new, direct drive, gearless wind turbine by its parent company WEG is a key factor in Zest WEG’s plan to grow a client base among wind farm developers, says Alastair Gerrard, integrated solutions executive at Zest WEG.
“With WEG’s latest 4,2MW wind turbine solution – which augments its initial offering of a 2,1MW unit – we see considerable scope for broadening our technology offering locally and into the rest of Africa,” he says.
With four decades as a local supplier, manufacturer and service provider in South Africa, Gerrard says Zest WEG has extensive market presence and knowledge upon which to build. In particular, the company is well-placed to meet the local content requirements for participating in the wind energy segment.
“We have prepared the ground for developing local skills and supply chains in our contribution to wind energy projects,” he says. “Given our experience in South Africa, our products and solutions also meet the necessary regulations and standards, including grid code compliance, which is vital for projects that will feed power to the national utility.”
WEG wind turbine
The positive take-up of the WEG wind turbine – mainly in South America – is reflected by the 647MW of capacity that has contributed to the market in recent years; another 181MW is in the pipeline, the company disclosed.
Gerrard further highlights that having no gearbox in the turbine offers a number of benefits. “There is increased efficiency, less noise and weight, and one less component means less maintenance,” he says. “The whole design is focused on efficiency and reliability, for maximum output and uptime.”
WEG’s wind turbine technology
The WEG turbine also includes the transformer in the nacelle, rather than at the tower base. This transformer steps up the 925 volts generated by the alternator to 33kV, reducing losses through more efficient energy transmission. There is also then no need for a separate transformer and its associated infrastructure at ground level.
“We are looking forward to leveraging WEG’s tried-and-tested turbine technology from Brazil, from our established foundation as a well-recognised local player,” Gerrard concludes.
