Sarens, has begun with the provision of services in support of the Gouda wind farm project in the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape province, South Africa.
These services include port support, road transportation as well as the provision of cranes to assemble the WTG’s (Wind Turbine Generators). This project is a first of its kind in Southern Africa in that the towers section portions, referred to as keystones, are manufactured from concrete, pre-assembled onsite into a tower section and then individually lifted to form the tower. Previous WTG’s assembled utilized imported steel tower sections susceptible to damage during transportation from the port of discharge to the wind farm resulting in many lost hours due to expensive repairs to these damaged tower sections.
A variety of Sarens resources will be utilized during this project ranging from experienced project managers to dedicated staff to transfer the two 800Te capacity cranes from hardstand to hardstand. Regarding the road transportation scope Sarens has invested in modular trailers as well as the latest available extendible trailers from Europe able to carry the next generation turbine blades of up to 67m in length. All this supported by a back-office experienced in projects of this sensitive nature.
Part of Window 2 of the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme, Gouda wind farm is a 138MW project consisting of 46 wind turbine generators. The project will contribute to local economic development and job creation during the construction phase and continue to do so during the twenty year operational life of the wind farm. The project will also invest in socio economic development within the Cape Winelands District focussing on upliftment, community training and skills development among other programmes.
Sarens South Africa’s experience during Window 1 of the REIPP procurement programme as well as Sarens Global’s experience contributed to the successful nomination as preferred contractor during execution of this project. With state of the art equipment and value engineering, Sarens offers its clients creative solutions to today's heavy lift and transport challenges. Sarens' success lies in its entrepreneurial spirit; "Nothing too heavy, nothing too high!"