Name of the Project
Khobab and Loeriesfontein wind farm projects.

Location
The Khobab and Loeriesfontein wind farms are located adjacent to each other in the Hantam municipality, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.

Client
The wind farms are owned by a consortium led by Lekela Power, a joint venture between Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power.

Other members include Thebe Investment Corporation; the IDEAS Managed Fund; Futuregrowth Asset Management; Genesis Eco-Energy, in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital; and the Khobab and Loeriesfontein Community Trusts.

Project Description
The project entails the construction of the Khobab and Loeriesfontein wind farms, which will have a combined generation capacity of 280 MW, generated by their 122 wind turbines.

The Loeriesfontein Wind Farm will have sixty-one, 99-m-high wind turbines erected on 3 453 ha of agricultural land. The wind farm will connect to a 132 kV Eskom line.

When operating at full capacity, it will generate about 563 500 MWh/y of clean renewable energy.

Similarly, Khobab Wind Farm will have sixty-one, 99-m-high wind turbines erected on 3 200 ha of agricultural land. The wind farm will also connect to a 132 kV Eskom line.

When operating at full capacity, the Khobab Wind Farm will generate about 563 500 MWh/y of clean renewable energy, which will supply electricity to power up to 120 000 South African homes. Khobab Wind Farm will eliminate an estimated 550 000 t/y of carbon emissions, compared with emissions of traditional fossil fuel power plants.

The wind turbines will be supplied by Siemens Wind Power, with the 99-m-high turbine towers being manufactured at the new Gestamp wind turbine tower factory in Atlantis, in the Western Cape. Civil and electrical works will be completed by a consortium comprising Murray & Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The energy generated by the new wind farms will be sold to South African power utility Eskom, in line with the 20-year power supply agreement, as part of the third round of the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Value
The wind farms represent a total investment of about R7-billion.

Duration
Both wind farms are expected to be operational in late 2017.

Latest Developments
The Khobab Wind Farm has completed the lifting of the first of its 61 wind turbine generators ahead of schedule.

It is expected that first power will be exported in the next three to four months and that the wind farm will start supplying electricity from all 61 turbines to the national grid by the end of this year.

The wind turbines, which are 100 m tall to allow for optimum energy production, take up to three days to erect, depending on the weather. 

The three 53 m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine tower. 

“This is a complicated lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor while another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position. The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox and weighs 82.5 t.”

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Siemens Wind Power, along with subcontractors Fairwind and BMS (wind turbine installation), Gestamp (turbine towers) and Murray & Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects (civil and electrical works), DHL and ALE (transport of wind farm components), GRI Towers South Africa (towers) .

On Budget and on Time?
The lifting of the turbines was completed ahead of time in March 2017.

Contact Details for Project Information
Mainstream Renewable Power, tel +27 21 657 4040 or email Info-southafrica@mainstreamrp.com.