/ 4 November 2011

Mountains could boost Lesotho’s frail economy

Lesotho will harness the power of wind and water in a $15-billion green energy project, the biggest of its kind in Africa.

The Lesotho highlands power project will generate 6 000MW of wind power and 4 000MW of hydropower, which is equivalent to about 5% of neighbouring South Africa’s electricity needs.

Lesotho said the scheme would help to end its plight as one of the world’s poorest countries, “making it a case study in how investing in renewable energy could transform a nation’s fortunes”.

Lesotho offers the opportunity to build one of the highest wind farms in the world, because more than 80% of its territory lies at least 1 800 metres above sea level. But the high altitude of its Maluti Mountains also carries risks: one of the highest lightning-strike rates in the world and temperatures that plunge to -20°C in the winter months.

The electricity generated by wind and water will be used by Lesotho as well as South Africa, which faces a constant battle to keep up with growing demand.

It is also hoped that the scheme, which is nearly 80% financed by Chinese loans, will be a silver bullet in Lesotho’s impoverished economy. Nearly half of the two million Basotho struggle to live on less than $1.25 a day. Lesotho has the third-highest rate of HIV in the world and the third-lowest life expectancy, at 45.9 years.

Investors said the power project would create 25 000 jobs over 15 years and about 1 500 technicians and engineers would be employed on a permanent basis.

The construction of roads and transmission lines will open up isolated communities, giving them access to markets and government services.

Monyane Moleleki, Lesotho’s natural resources minister, said: “The Lesotho highlands power project promises hitherto unheard of positives for the socioeconomic wellbeing of our nation. The project comes at a time when our traditional income streams have dried up due largely to the global economic meltdown,” he said.

“Through this project our country has the potential to graduate from a least-developed country status to a developing-country status. Our beloved Maluti mountain range has once again proven to be the saviour of our economy.”

Construction is expected to take between 10 and 15 years. The first phase is a 150MW wind farm that will start next year. Harrison and White Investments, a South African engineering company, and its Chinese technology partner, Ming Yang Wind Power, will build factories that make wind turbine components in South Africa and Lesotho.

Although the Maluti Mountains are uninhabited, some of the planned sites sustain valuable wetlands and rare fauna and flora. Moss Leoka, executive director of Harrison and White, is bracing for a backlash against wind turbines after the environmental impact assessment.

South Africa, host of the COP17 conference in Durban, has been ­criticised for an “addiction to coal” by Greenpeace, which called on the government to stop building the coal-fired Medupi power station and invest in renewable energy solutions. —