Construction of the turbine foundations, roads and substation civil works are progressing well for the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay wind farm project, says emerging-markets-focused power company Globeleq South Africa MD Mark Pickering.
The project, between the towns of Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp, in the Eastern Cape, is in the design and construction phase, he says, adding that the civil and electrical engineering design is mostly complete, with final completion of the project expected in early April 2014.
“Manufacturing of the long lead items, such as the high-voltage transformer, medium- voltage transformers, medium-voltage cabling and wind turbine components, has started, with around one-quarter of the towers and nacelles already in transit to the site,” states Pickering.
Moreover, he notes that the pro- ject remains on schedule to start commercial operations in May 2014 and is still within budget.
Pickering says a major challenge is the fact that the project site is located on rocky ground, which prolongs construction activities.
Project Description
The Jeffreys Bay wind farm covers eight farms and spans about 3 700 ha of land.
The turbines for the project will be supplied by technology group Siemens Wind Power, while the civil and electrical works will be completed by a South African consortium including construction giant Murray & Roberts and high-voltage construction company Consolidated Power Projects.
The project consists of 60 Siemens SWT 2.3 MW wind turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 100 m.
“These turbines were selected based on the technology’s quality and its compatibility with local wind patterns. The turbine is a reliable machine with a proven record of over 5 170 units installed worldwide since October 2012,” explains Pickering.