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“
When I joined the company Eveready had purchased Kestrel and the
company was leading the market for wind turbines in South Africa,”
Gouws reflects. “Small wind is a niche market, and so Eveready was
committed to moving the right people and equipment down to serve the
South African region in order to suit the Kestrel business”
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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012
According to the South African
Wind Energy Association, while
there is much interest in the
investment in large MW wind
farms and projects in Africa, the
small wind market enables power
to reach the consumer directly.
“Small Wind Turbines (SWT) are
classif ied into Pico (<1kW), Micro
(1-7kW) and Mini (7-50kW),” the
association states. “The classif i-
cation is unfortunate because
the adoption of ‘Pico’ and ‘Micro’
is misleading when one consid-
ers that a 1kW wind turbine can
supply adequate basic power to a
rural school.” This is where
Kestrel’s story begins—with the
provision of power to customers
that might otherwise not have
power infrastructure.
Kestrel Renewable Solutions,
the trading name of Eveready
Diversif ied Products, was found-
ed in 1999, long before the global
demand for wind reached its
peak. The company is South
African-based and has been
successfully serving the interna-
tional market for small wind
since it began. Kestrel Wind
Turbines was conceived in the
early ‘90s, and so the present
corporation
has
extensive
experience to draw from in order
to carry business into the future.
Kestrel provides a full spectrum
of turbines to a wide range of
customers: from large organiza-
tions to small business and local
institutions. The company also
sells to private consumers.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE KESTREL
CUSTOMER BASE
According to the company, “the
Kestrel experience is interactive
and f illed with information about
local wind resources and
potential power yield.” Leon
Gouws, who is the company’s
head sales director for Africa,
says that the Kestrel turbine is
second-to-none. Kestrel is the
only micro wind turbine
manufacturer in South Africa,
and so the company has a
leadership position between its
lack of competition and its
quality product—as well as a
superior network of distributors
in S.A. and around the world.
“When I joined the company
Eveready had purchased Kestrel
and the company was leading the
market for wind turbines in
South Africa,” Gouws ref lects.
“Small wind is a niche market,
and so Eveready was committed
to moving the right people and
equipment down to serve the
South African region in order to
KESTREL WIND TURBINES