GL Garrad Hassan has opened its first office in the Rainbow Nation, in Cape Town, South Africa, in order to support the developers and financiers of South Africa's burgeoning wind power industry.
According to GL Garrad Hassan, South Africa is ideally suited for renewable energy development, given its abundant wind and solar resources, ample number of suitable sites and modern high-voltage electrical infrastructure. The opening of the new office will mean that GL Garrad Hassan can now offer its clients a local point of contact for its global network of experts, the company explains.
‘South Africa represents one of the most active regions in Africa for wind and solar developments, and is notably the first country in the world where we are involved in as many solar as wind projects," notes Dr. Helmut Klug, GL Garrad Hassan's regional manager for central Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
GL Garrad Hassan has been working in South Africa for a number of years, with projects dating back to the 1990s. The company notes that it helped to develop the first wind map for South Africa together with other partners, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
