Construction of the R1.2-billion 61.5 MW Grassridge Wind Energy Facility, in Nelson Mandela Bay, officially started earlier this month.

The wind farm is being established at cement company PPC’s Grassridge quarry, in Port Elizabeth. It forms part of the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, PPC group energy manager Egmont Ottermann said the wind farm was the first wind energy project to be established at the site of a working limestone quarry, adding that the construction of the wind farm formed part of the company’s long- term rehabilitation plans for the mine.

“A company’s responsibilities with regard to mining run long after the mine has closed and, for us, this is a fantastic way to take the benefits of the mining project [further] into the future, past the life-of-mine,” he told Engineering News.

The Grassridge wind farm is owned by Grassridge Wind Power, a project com- pany comprising local wind energy developer Innowind, which holds a 60% interest in the project, the Industrial Development Corporation, which owns 14%, and the Grassridge Winds of Change Community Trust – representing the interests of the local Motherwell community – which owns the balance.

Once completed, the facility will comprise 20 Vestas V-112 3 MW wind turbines, with a combined installed capacity of 61.5 MW, delivering electricity equivalent to the yearly consumption of about 40 000 households.

Construction is expected to take 20 months, with the farm to start producing electricity in 2015.

The first construction phase will run from October to July 2014 and will include the building of roads, foundations and a new on-site substation, which will link to the existing Grassridge substation at the Coega industrial devel- opment zone.

The turbines, which will include the towers, nacelles, hubs and blades, will be erected between July and November next year.

Innowind CEO Martin Webb points out that, besides the most complex turbine parts, infrastructure elements and wind farm components will be sourced in South Africa.

“As part of the REIPPPP, we are required by the DoE to have a minimum local content of 35%,” he told Engineering News.

The wind farm’s initial contract period, as set out by the DoE, is 20 years; however, Webb says that, with proper maintenance, the facility could have a much longer life span.

The electricity produced will be sold to Eskom, with 26% of the benefits directed to the Motherwell community through the Winds of Change Community Trust.

Money channelled into the trust will be administered by the board of trustees to fund community-boosting projects in the areas of education, sports, enterprise development and skills development.

Meanwhile, Ottermann tells Engineering News that while PPC only provides the land for this project, and will not receive electricity directly from the project, the Grassridge Wind Energy Facility is only the first step in the company’s renewable-energy plans.

He adds that PPC, in partnership with Innowind, is planning a second phase to the Grassridge project that will entail the construction of a 24 MW wind farm under a bilateral power purchase agree- ment.

“This second phase is currently in the feasibility stage and, if all goes according to plan, we will start construction at the end of next year,” he says.

Once commissioned, the second phase will supply 10% of PPC’s local electricity requirements.

Ottermann further states that PPC is also considering other renewable- energy sources to reduce the company’s dependence on coal and eventually make a complete shift towards renewable energy.