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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

Researcher transforms despair into diamonds
2016-01-18

PhD candidate, Lerato Machetela and some members of the group Diamonds in the Rough having some fun between rehearsals.

Awash in hopelessness, substance abuse, violence, and sexual promiscuity. This is the lived reality of the youth in Jagersfontein. But now Lerato Machetela is using her research to change it.

As a PhD candidate in Trauma, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), Machetela assembled a group of 14 young men – ranging between the ages of 9 and 18 – who call themselves Jagersfontein’s Diamonds in the Rough. Combining elements from psychology, education, and entertainment, Machetela has established a platform that grounds these young ones adrift in circumstances. By means of song and dance, these young ones have become grounded through creativity.

While discussing what it means to be free in the new South Africa, Machetela asked the group to come up with a song similar to the struggle song, ‘Nelson Mandela usi litheli ixolo’.

Jagersfontein’s Diamonds in the Rough Researcher, Lerato Machetela, combines psychology, education, and entertainment to ground local youths through creativity.

The result: He’s a teenager, but he drinks Hansa.

“This then developed into a dance routine depicting what the youth is doing with their freedom,” Machetela says. With each beat of their boots and rhythmic clap of their hands, the group illustrates the ways in which the youth has constructed – and come to understand – their daily realities. “The routine includes the expression of alcohol and drug abuse, and ends of with the importance of education.”

Through the creative expressions of Diamonds in the Rough, Machetela is able not only to explore the reality of the youth in Jagersfontein, but also to investigate intergenerational trauma. “I am looking at whether there is a relationship between these young people’s current circumstances and the experiences of their parents’ generation during the apartheid years. That is, what sort of meanings do they construct as young, black South Africans growing up in the new South Africa?”

What started off as a research project is now rippling beyond academic spheres, though. The Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation has taken note of this initiative. As a result, the group has already performed at the Bloem Show, International Museums Day, and Heritage Day celebrations, as well as at the Mangaung African Cultural Festival (MACUFE).  

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