Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
21 May 2018 Photo Naledi Posholi
Could wave power be an answer to SAs electricity crisis
Attending a recent guest lecture, were from the left: Prof Marian Tredoux UFS Department of Geology, Prof Stoffel Fourie fromWalter Sisulu University, and Thoriso Lekoetje a third-year UFS Geology student.
South Africa has a 2800-km long coastline with high wave energy potential that can generate electricity. Presenting a lecture at the UFS Department of Geology, Prof Stoffel Fourie discussed wave power as a possible solution to the country’s electricity needs. Prof Fourie is a geophysicist and the chairperson of research and development in the faculty of engineering at Walter Sisulu University.

Power at any time
Wave power is a renewable and sustainable resource. “It can provide continuous base load power because wave energy systems do not suffer from ‘time of day’ issues as other renewable energy options. This means that it can generate power at any time of the day,” said Prof Fourie. 
Discussed also was the wave power advantages and disadvantages. 

Wave energy advantages
• Wave energy is a reliable renewable energy resource;

• Reduces dependency on fossil fuels;

• Wave energy is predictable and consistent;

• Generates little or no pollution to the environment compared to other energy resources; and

• Presents no barriers or difficulty to migrating fish and aquatic animals.

Wave energy disadvantages
• Wave energy conversion devices are location dependent, thus limiting possible sites where they can be implemented;

• Offshore wave energy devices can be a threat to shipping as they are too small to detect by radar; and

• High capital investment required for start-up costs, construction and maintenance.

“Looking at both advantages and disadvantages, there is no doubt that South Africa can use this method to harvest energy. With the right investment and political buy-in, wave power could provide a continuous supply of energy and contribute to all South Africa’s electricity needs,” Prof Fourie said.

News Archive

Juan Odendaal invited to training camp in Switzerland
2015-10-19

Juan Odendaal recently in action at the UCI Paralympic World Cup
for road races in Pietermaritzburg.
Photo: Bertus Odendaal

Juan Odendaal from the University of the Free State (UFS) was invited to be part of a training camp in Switzerland, together with some of the world’s leading para-cyclists.

This first-year BA student was recently selected by the cycling body, Union Cyclist International (UCI), to attend the camp which will be held in Aigle from 2-12 November 2015.

Afterwards, Odendaal, who has been the junior South African champion in the C3 division in road races, time trials, and pursuit races, will travel to Manchester, England, where he will compete in a para-cycling event from 13-15 November 2015.

Recently, he took part in the senior division of the UCI Paralympic World Cup for road races for the first time, and has performed well. In this event, which was held in Pietermaritzburg, he competed against participants from countries including Germany, Australia, Spain, and Russia.

Odendaal on 11 September 2015 took eighth place in the road race and tenth place in the time trial. The road race takes place over 55 km and the time trial over 24 km.

Odendaal said he realised immediately that he was competing at senior level.

“There was a marked difference in the quality of the races,” he said, about the World Cup in Pietermaritzburg.

“It was much faster than I had expected. The average speed was 37,2 kilometres per hour.”

Odendaal also made his debut for South Africa in March of this year at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. At this event, he finished in fifteenth place in both the time trials and the pursuit event.

Odendaal said his main goal is the World Championships, which will take place in Montichiari, Italiy, in March 2016. He is hoping to achieve good times there in order to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept