Caryn is an Environmental Project Manager at G7, responsible for environmental related tasks associated with Wind Farm Development. Caryn obtained her MSc (with distinction) in Environmental Science from Rhodes University in 2012.

With over 5 years of environmental consulting experience, Caryn has in-depth knowledge of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and other environmental permitting processes required for large scale renewable energy developments. She is passionate about sustainable and clean energy and how it can help move South Africa towards a low carbon economy.

Kobus is the Site Manager that focuses on wind measurement equipment installation, commissioning and maintenance, as well as community relations. He started working overseas in 2001 and has gained a lot of experience working with small companies and larger firms where he engaged with various groups of people. He returned to South Africa in 2006 and did local contracting. He started working for G7 in 2015.

Kobus is a local farmer in the Karoo which gives him in depth knowledge of the area, social structures, and the people. He takes a lot of pride in his work and is involved with various role players and community structures. He currently forms part of the ward committee, Community Policing Forum, Agricultural Association, and Business Chambers. He is an integral part of the G7 team. Kobus works on site with Pieter.

Francois is a project manager focused on the engineering side of wind project development. First an intern at G7 during his last year of engineering school, Francois went back to France to obtain his engineering degree and decided to move back to South Africa to carry on with wind project developing.

During his first years at G7 Renewable Energies, Francois was responsible for most of the technical parts of wind project developing. He is now the manager and the responsible of the G7 wind monitoring campaign. He is in charge of the planning and implementation of the measurement campaign, the procurement of equipment, specialists and consultants. Seen as the wind specialist at G7, he is also in charge of the analysis and filtering of wind data, that he uses for wind simulations and layouts design.

Ketso Molapo completed his studies in 2017 and obtained his BSc. Eng. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town.
He is passionate about renewable energy. As the Wind Analyst, he performs quality assurance tasks and conducts analysis of wind data collected on G7’s sites. He carries out wind flow simulations for G7, and also provides automation solutions through continuous development of our in-house software tools.

Ketso joined G7 Renewable Energies in 2019 as an intern and subsequently joined the G7 team on a permanent basis as a Wind Analyst.

Jacob Pienaar obtained a degree in civil engineering from Stellenbosch University in 2017. After a few years abroad, where he worked in the traffic and transportation engineering sector, he joined G7 in 2021 as an intern. He is passionate about renewable energy, particularly in Africa and the economic impact these projects have on the South African economy. After his 6 months internship, Jacob joined the G7 team permanently as Project Engineer.

Sally joined G7 in 2022 as a GIS specialist to manage the current GIS datasets for the team. Sally completed a degree in environmental science and then later obtained a degree in Geographical Information Systems (Honors) at the University of Cape Town. She has experience working as a research assistant managing spatial data and creating maps. Her interests include establishing effective and convenient methods to deal with spatial data.

Lyle van der Merwe joined G7 as Land Rights Developer in May 2022. Lyle has many years of work experience in the Property Development field, ranging from residential to commercial.

His qualifications include a Master’s in City and Regional Planning (UCT), a BA in Development and Environment (Stellenbosch University) and Advanced Project Management (UCT).

 

Skye is responsible for management of permitting and environmental related tasks within the Renewable Energy Development process. She holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Management from the University of South Africa (2018) and is completing her post-grad degree in Integrated Environmental Management on a merit bursary with UNISA.

She has 3 years of environmental consulting experience working on a variety of projects including wind, solar and grid infrastructure developments which have built her working knowledge of the Environmental Impact Assessment process.

Skye supports the shift to a low carbon economy to address climate change and enable access to affordable electricity for all.

Pieter is one of G7’s Site Technicians. He focuses on wind measurement equipment installation and mast maintenance. For this specific task rigorous working at heights training is needed alongside a great and maintained fitness level. The Karoo, where many of our projects are being developed, is home to Pieter.

Denzel is a young Electrical Engineering professional. He joined the G7 team as PV Engineer after an internship of 6 Months. Denzel focuses mostly on electrical engineering in relation to solar PV and battery energy storage systems and does PV energy yield simulations. Previously, his engineering experience was coupled with a sales engineer role, being employed as a sales engineer with Sirius International UK in 2021.

He started his involvement in the Solar PV sector in January 2020, when he began a one-year academic dissertation in off-grid solar systems at the Durban University of Technology, in South Africa. His research topic was titled “Electricity Generation through Piezo-Electric Tiles and Solar Panels in High Pedestrian Traffic Areas” and examined the implementation strategies and benefits of such systems. A prototype was designed and tested which was the basis of receiving his undergraduate qualification as an Electrical Engineering Technologist. He is also an accredited Solar PV installer after acquiring his Solar Green Card through SARETEC, a South African Photovoltaic Industry Association. Additionally, he is currently sharpening his skills in Power Industry by pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in Power Engineering at the University of Cape Town.

 

Rian Viljoen is part of the G7 site team as Assistant Site Manager and will be responsible for the administration of the G7 wind campaign and logistics, stock management and Occupational, Health and Safety functions for the team.

Rian has experience in the wind industry, having worked on the G7 Developed Roggeveld Wind Farm and the Karusa Soetwater Wind Farm projects at management level.

Rian started his career in farming and has many years of experience in being a field officer and agronomist at several companies. He holds a Diploma in Business Management and several safety training qualifications related to large construction projects.

Kathryn Winstanley joined G7 in October 2022 as an Environmental Project Developer after completing a 3-month internship at G7.

Kathryn is in her final year of completing a BSc in environmental management with the University of Florida. She is also a competitive figure skater (representing South Africa in International Figure-Skating Championships).

 

Dolly Masilela joined the G7 team in 2023 as a Wind Analyst after her 6 months Internship. Dolly obtained a BSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town in 2016. She also worked as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Cape Town in the Electrical Machines course and has experience as a Software Developer.