CONCO, Africa’s largest power infrastructure service provider with 30 years’ Africa-wide experience in transmission, distribution and power infrastructure development, has successfully completed the electrical balance of plant for over nine wind farms and four solar photovoltaic (PV) parks in South Africa including grid connections.

This work forms part of the South African government’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme.
 
REIPPP programme - wind
For bid windows one, two and three, CONCO secured the electrical balance of plant work of 68%, 40% and 70% respectively, of the total megawatts allocated per window. The company’s expertise encompassed wind turbine reticulation where it connected over 300 turbines to the grid, wind turbine pad-mounted transformer kiosks, facility SCADA and power plant controller solutions, network stability equipment required to ensure grid code compliance, substations and overhead lines. CONCO’s services included in-house design, commissioning and project management.
 
Despite the challenges and risks involved, all wind and solar projects were completed within the specified time and CONCO further proved its reliability as a trusted supplier by complying with the economic development obligations pertaining to jobs, local content and preferential procurement. This marks CONCO’s success in handling large scale complex renewable energy projects. The company plans to take this extensive experiential base in renewable projects into the rest of the continent.
 
It also opens doors for CONCO to expand into other IPP projects such as oil, gas, nuclear and co-generation.
 
The CONCO group, part of JSE-listed Consolidated Infrastructure Group Limited (CIG), has three main companies, namely CONCO South Africa and CONCO Energy Solutions based in South Africa, and CONCO International operating from Mauritius. Active in over 25 countries across Africa and the Middle East, the group has a customer-centric focus with a solid reputation as an organisation that seeks to understand and meet the needs of its customers.

The CONCO group’s offerings include:

• Turnkey solutions for transmission, distribution and other power infrastructure (high, medium and low voltage networks)
• Coal generation balance of plant refurbishments and new builds with strategic partners
• Renewable energy solutions (wind and solar)
• Oil, gas, nuclear, and co-generation solutions
• High voltage installation services for OEMs
• Specialised electrical infrastructure solutions for real estate developers (self-build programme)

 
Social responsibility
Renewable energy projects, like any other CONCO projects, have a social responsibility aspect to them. Examples include the donation of science laboratories to a school where CONCO also conducted teacher training in order to help improve maths and science, as well as the refurbishment of an entire school and crèche.
 
For further information contact Izak van der Merwe on +27 21 905 0392 or email info@concogrp.com