About Khobab Wind Farm
Khobab Wind Farm is a renewable energy project near Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape. It sits in the Hantam municipal area. The plant has 61 turbines and a capacity of 140 MW. It was developed by Mainstream Renewable Power under the third bid round of South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme. Commercial operation began in December 2017.
The wind farm has a sister project, Loeriesfontein 2, in the same area. Together, the two plants feed clean electricity into the national grid.
How Khobab supports students
Projects licensed under the REIPPP programme must reinvest in the communities that host them. Khobab meets part of that duty through its bursary programme. For this reason, the bursary is open to any field of study rather than to energy-related qualifications only. The fund exists to meet a socio-economic development duty, not to build the company's own talent pipeline.
The programme is for people who live in Loeriesfontein and hold South African citizenship. You can be a current student at a public tertiary institution or someone who starts studying in the coming year. TVET colleges, universities of technology and universities all qualify. The bursary seeks to give local youth post-school study options, and it has supported around ten local students.
The value of each award is set individually. It may cover tuition, registration and examination fees, residence or equivalent accommodation, meals and learning materials such as textbooks and stationery. There is no employment work-back requirement. Recipients are not expected to work for Khobab or its operator after graduating.
What to know before applying
StudyTrust, an education non-profit, administers the programme. The application season runs from 1 June to 30 September, according to its page. However, check the page each year, because dates can shift.
You apply on the StudyTrust online platform and send your supporting documents to the address given there. Read the general application instructions first. Incomplete applications are not considered.
Selection favours the most deserving candidates. For postgraduate study, the panel looks at whether the qualification will improve your job prospects. Explain your financial need honestly, and show why your chosen course matters to you and to Loeriesfontein.
Loeriesfontein is a small, rural town a long way from most universities. Local students therefore face high costs for travel and accommodation, so the support for residence and meals matters as much as tuition fees. Bursaries from the wind farm have gone to Loeriesfontein students in past years, which shows that the programme keeps the money inside the local community. Ask StudyTrust about the current number of awards, because it can change.
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