Construction leaning towards renewable energy projects

15th November 2013

  

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With renewable energy and resource shortages being a concern for South Africa, most of the country’s top construction projects for 2013 are centred around renewable-energy projects, which will assist in creating jobs in the construction industry.

It was reported in April by country information website SouthAfrica.info, that South Africa’s construction confidence reached a four-year high in the first quarter of the year. The index moved up from 36 points in the fourth quarter of 2012, to 51 points in the first quarter of 2013, the highest it has been since 60 points in early 2009.

Contributing positively to confidence levels was an increase in government spending, particularly in municipal and provincial capital expenditure. It was also reported that civil construction activity is expected to continue to grow in the second quarter of the year.

Building material sales have also increased, highlighting recovery in the industry and increased activity by contractors.

“The inaugural bauma Africa trade fair is also expected to bode well for the construction industry, as it attracted the attention of key international companies and role-players to South Africa and Africa,” says financial services group MMI South Africa CEO Elaine Crewe.

Renewable-energy projects are being developed throughout the country this year – one such project includes emerging markets power company Globeleq Generation, which celebrated the official start of construction of three renewable-energy projects in South Africa during February, all of which are expected to be in operation by mid-2014.

The first of these is a 138 MW wind farm in Jeffreys Bay, in the Eastern Cape. The project is one of the first and largest wind facilities in the country to start con-struction, as part of the South African govern-ment’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The Jeffreys Bay wind farm (JBWF) is owned by a consortium of experts, dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa, consisting of Globeleq, wind power developer Mainstream Renewable Power, financial services group Old Mutual, investment management company Thebe Investment Corporation, engineering firms Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering and a local community trust.

The project will consist of 60 Siemens SWT 2.3 MW wind turbines and is located between the towns of Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp, in the Kouga municipality of the Eastern Cape.

The site is situated across a total of eight farms and spans almost 3 700 ha of land. The location was chosen, owing to the good wind resource, relatively flat topography, minimal environmental constraints and proximity to a 132 kV Eskom grid line.

In November last year, the JBWF project company signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with State-owned power utility Eskom, an implementation agreement with the Department of Energy and reached financial close with a syndicate of lenders led by Absa bank.

Construction will be jointly managed by Mainstream and Globeleq, with Siemens maintaining the turbines for a period of ten years.

During the construction period, an average of 200 jobs are expected to be created. More indirect jobs will be created or sustained at local manufacturers and suppliers. The contractors responsible for building the wind farm are committed to employing as many people from the local community as possible and procuring goods and services from the local community where feasible. During the 20-year operation of the wind farm, about 11 long-term jobs will be created to operate and maintain the wind farm.

Further, another of Globeleq’s renewable-energy projects, the 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project, is located in Droogfontein, about 12 km north of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape.

The field consists of 168 720 PV panels mounted over an area of around 90 ha. The project is also part of the REIPPPP and is among the first large-scale renewable power plants to be built in the country.

Globeleq’s third project is the 50 MW De Aar solar project, which began construction in December and is currently reported to be at peak construction phase.

A consortium comprising Globeleq, Mainstream Renewable Power, Thebe Investment Corporation, the Rebuna Litsatsi Trust, Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering is developing the project, and has employed Siemens South Africa as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

The majority of the employees working on the project are from the De Aar area and have been drawn from a database established together with the Emthanjeni municipality, which also owns the 100 ha property on which the project is located.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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