The operators of the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay wind farm, which will comprise 60 Siemens SWT 2.3 MW wind turbines, will start transporting the turbine components from the Port of Ngqura to the 3 700 ha site, near Humansdorp, next week.

Trucks with oversized trailers of up to 50 m in length will transport the components to site on a regular basis on weekdays between July 22 and January 31, 2014.

In preparation for the turbine transportation programme, the construction team had made modifications to the N2 highway to accommodate the large turning radius of the abnormal loads.

Once on site, the components will be offloaded beside the wind turbine foundations. Two cranes will be used to erect the turbines at a pace of about two a week.

The final commissioning of the turbines will take place following the connection of the electrical works. 

Siemens Wind Power will provide expertise and technology for the supply, installation and erection of turbines, and will also maintain the turbines for a ten-year period.

The civil and electrical works, including construction of a new substation, will be completed by a joint venture between Murray & Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The project is one of the first wind farms to be developed under the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

The wind farm is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by mid-2014. The site is located within close proximity to a 132 kV Eskom transmission line.

“Not only will the project be able to provide a significant number of homes with clean, renewable energy by harnessing a free source of energy, it will also save millions of litres of water that would otherwise have been consumed in the production of energy,” commented Jeffreys Bay wind farm GM Mark Pickering.

A consortium comprising Globeleq, Mainstream Renewable Power, Old Mutual, Thebe Investment Corporation, Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering, as well as a local community trust, is developing the project.