First turbine at Perdekraal East Wind Farm erected

11th September 2019

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

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Perdekraal East Wind Farm this month celebrated the erection of its first wind turbine – a pivotal point in the construction of the project.

The milestone was also achieved by a predominantly South African team.

“We are very proud that both specialist crane operators are South Africans, an indication that our industry is maturing and that skills are being effectively transferred,” says Perdekraal East Wind Farm construction programme manager Christo Loots.

“The first 100% local South African turbine lifting team featured during the latter part of Khobab Wind Farm’s construction in 2017, whereas prior to that, we [had] to import this expert skill,” he explained.

Local employment accounts for the majority of the workforce at Perdekraal, with about 150 employees hailing from the local communities of Ceres, Nduli, Bella Vista and Prince Alfred.

The turbine assembly takes about a day to complete, assuming that the weather is favourable, with the front-runner crane installing the first two tower sections, as well as the rotor assembly, which is referred to as the pre-erection phase.

The main erection, which includes the installation of the remaining three tower sections, nacelle and rotor, takes between six and seven hours, which is in addition to the pre-erection process that typically takes about five hours to complete.

The construction of this Western Cape wind farm project is on schedule and on budget.

The wind turbine stands 115 m tall to allow for optimum energy production; however, when one of the blades stand vertically, the turbine’s tip height is 168 m high.

The three 53.2 m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine tower.

The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox; and weighs 86 t.

The next major construction milestone will be the arrival of the main transformer and the energisation of the substation.

The 110 MW Perdekraal wind farm spans 3 055 ha.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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