As South Africa transitions from coal to clean technologies, more young people are eyeing careers in renewable energy. With an estimated 16-million green jobs already created globally, the country is poised to harness this growth as its sustainable energy ambitions take shape.

Young people’s interest in the sector was evident in the packed WindAc Africa Conference, hosted by the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) in Cape Town in early October. Students, academics, experts and young professionals came from across the country and the globe to share research, network and explore career pathways in the wind energy sector. 

According to SAWEA Interim CEO Titania Stefanus-Zincke, WindAc is an important platform for empowering and inspiring the wind-energy workforce of the future. 

“The industry cannot only focus on developing clean-energy technology and building wind turbines; we must also build human capital. It’s vital for us to ensure that young South Africans and Africans are equipped with the right qualifications and skills to conceptualise and operate this infrastructure in the decades to come,” she says.  

South Africa’s green-energy careers of the future include jobs in engineering, construction and manufacturing, with demand for solar, wind and battery-storage products expected to reach R37.4-billion by 2030, according to the Institute for Economic Justice. 

A number of wind projects are already operating in South Africa, including the Hopefield Wind Farm in Saldanha Bay Municipal Area, north of Cape Town, which WindAc participants had the opportunity to visit prior to the conference to see first-hand how this technology works.

Teen science prodigy unpacks his wind-energy innovation

Damian Lambert (18), a matric learner at the Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology, presented his innovative wind-energy project at the People Pavilion at Windaba 2026, the industry conference held alongside WindAc.

Damian has always been interested in the circular economy, but has recently been galvanised by the possibilities the wind energy sector offers. 

“Last year, I did a project on manure for the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, because my family believes we must reuse what nature gives us,” he says. “This year, I did a project on the future of wind energy and, while doing the research, I really started enjoying learning more about engineering.”

It took nearly a year for Damian to research, design and build a computer-simulated model of his Omnidirectional Piezoelectric Wind Energy Harvester, which captures wind energy and converts it into electricity without using turbine blades. 

His project was awarded a bronze medal in the energy category at the Eskom Expo, and was highly commended in the WindAc Adopt-a-Learner competition, sponsored by the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority. First place went to Akeelah Kallis and Ilhaan Francis from Rustenburg Girls’ High School, for their project titled “Integrating Wind Technologies in Urban Areas”.

Buoyed by the positive reception to his science innovations, Damian is considering a career that incorporates engineering and renewables. “I’m very ambitious,” he says. “In the future, I want to create something that can impact the world in a positive way – something that generates energy, but not at the cost of people’s lives or the environment.”

Using renewables to power up the Indian Ocean islands

Chrisant Rasolonomenjanahary, an academic from the University of Réunion Island, presented his paper on mapping solar-wind complementarity in Madagascar at WindAc. Originally hailing from Madagascar, he decided to apply his mathematical training to solving that island’s electricity gap through renewable energy while pursuing his PhD at the ENERGY-Lab research unit at the University of La Réunion.

“Madagascar is one of the biggest islands in the world, but it’s one of the poorest islands in terms of rolling out electricity,” he says. “The government is trying, but there is a lot of work to be done, especially in the field of renewable energy. My research focuses on whether there is potential for wind energy, and how to use it.” 

He says the primary challenge lies in ensuring the local population and economy have the purchasing power to afford the upfront capital costs of renewable energy infrastructure.

Spotlight on women, girls and young people in STEM

Zelda Monana (38), from Middelburg in Mpumalanga, is another environmental go-getter who attended the WindAc conference to learn about the latest research in renewables and to explore opportunities in the sector for women and girls in STEM. 

She graduated with an honours degree in Environmental Management, but unemployment drove her to start Optima Trading, an SMME that focuses on electronic waste collection and safe disposal.

“We are trying to scale up and look at how we can safely dispose of PV solar panels and all the electronic waste that will be generated as we are transitioning to renewable energy,” says Zelda, who is studying towards an MSc through Unisa with a focus on the life cycle of e-waste in the just energy transition. 

Mukelo Baloyi (22) is an Industrial Engineering student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, hailing from Bevhula village in Limpopo’s Vhembe district. His studies have ignited his interest in optimising waste generated by energy sources such as coal. 

“I see sustainable energy as offering many pathways to help young people and create employment opportunities,” says Mukelo. “Where I’m from, I see young men partaking in things like smoking and wasting their lives. Finding ways of creating jobs to keep them busy will be good not just economically, but for young people’s lives in general.”

Learners, students and entrepreneurs at WindAc agreed that schools should do more to stimulate young people’s interest in renewable energy as a potential career, to foster creativity and innovation and close the skills gap. 

“We shouldn’t have to wait for learners to be in matric before we raise awareness. As early as primary school, children are being taught robotics,” says Zelda. “If we could introduce [education in green energy and sustainability] at school level as well, they could be encouraged to pursue careers that are aligned with where South Africa’s energy landscape is going.”