Final turbine erection.
All 60 turbines have been installed at the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay wind farm, in the Eastern Cape, with the project, which is already supplying electricity to Eskom, expected to enter commercial operations in May.
GM Mark Pickering said a 90-person erection crew had been working tirelessly to erect the the 2.3 MW Siemens turbines since August. But good weather conditions had also played a role in supporting the erection of the final turbine in late February.
The wind farm, which was among the first projects to be selected under government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, covered an area of 3 700 ha.
The project is majority owned by Globeleq, and its consortium partners include Mainstream Renewable Power South Africa, Old Mutual, Thebe Investment Corporation, Jeffreys Bay Community Trust, Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering.
There are currenlty 47 contracted renewable-energy projects at various stages of development across South Africa, with 17 more expected to reach financial close later this year.