Company Announcement - • Siemens to supply wind turbines for Khobab, Loeriesfontein 2 and Noupoort wind farms
• The three wind farms have a combined generation capacity of 360 MW
• Total of 157 SWT – 2.3-108 wind turbines to be supplied and installed by Siemens
• Biggest order of wind turbines in Africa

Electrical engineering and electronics company Siemens is set to supply wind turbines for three new wind farms in South Africa. Siemens signed contracts with Mainstream Renewable Power for the supply of wind turbines for Khobab, Loeriesfontein 2 and Noupoort wind farms. The signing of the contract comes after a few months of commercial operation of Jeffreys Bay wind farm in the Eastern Cape, for which Siemens supplied and installed wind turbines.

Tom Pedersen, head of Wind Power division at Siemens says “It is a great honour for us as a company to be entrusted with these projects, and we look forward to building on the strong partnership we have with our customer.”

The wind farms are under the third round of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.  The three wind farms have a combined generation capacity of 360 MW. The 140 MW Khobab wind farm and the 140 MW Loeriesfontein 2 wind farms, are both located in the Namakwa District Municipality in the Western Cape, while the 80 MW Noupoort wind farm is located in Umsobomvu Local Municipality in the Northern Cape.

Mainstream Renewable Power is selected for three projects in the Round 3 of SA’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Mainstream was awarded with the Jeffrey’s Bay 138 MW wind farm for round 1 of the REIPPPP. Mainstream is one of the most experienced wind farm developers in South Africa and its project preparation is among the most advanced.

Mainstream’s Managing Director, Onshore Procurement, Construction and Operations Barry Lynch said: “Mainstream is delighted to be working with many or the same partners again on our South African projects, including Siemens. Local jobs and local content are very important to ensuring South Africa gets as much value and long-term benefit from these projects and we are delighted that Siemens is manufacturing the towers for all 157 of our wind turbines here in South Africa. “

For the three wind farms combined, Siemens will supply a total of 157 wind turbines. 35 turbines are destined for Noupoort while the balance of 122 will be shared equally between Khobab and Loeriesfontein. The model will be SWT-2.3-108 with a towering hub height of 99.5m. “Through this order, we are also going to contribute job creation through our local suppliers from whom we will source towers and other components,” concludes Pedersen. Approximately 11,500 Siemens onshore wind turbines, providing more than 17,200 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, are currently in operation all over the world.