Andrea Ranieri, Alessandra Governanti, Louise Paulsen, Lasad Jaouani and Manuele Battisti at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Impofu Wind Farms
Enel Green Power (EGP) South Africa has started construction of three new wind farms in the Eastern Cape, which will provide electricity to Air Liquide and Sasol in Secunda, Mpumalanga, through a wheeling framework agreement with Eskom.
With a combined capacity of 330 MW, the Impofu East, Impofu West, and Impofu North projects will comprise 57 turbines, eight high-voltage substations, as well as 120 km of 132 kV high-voltage overhead electricity lines.
The wind farms are scheduled to enter operation in 2026 and the electricity produced will be used to help decarbonise the oxygen production facility at Secunda, which is the largest in the world.
At a groundbreaking ceremony EGP South Africa country manager Manuele Battisti said the projects would complement the group’s existing portfolio of over 1 200 MW of operational renewable energy capacity in South Africa.
He also emphasised the social and economic benefits of the projects, which span sites involving 60 different landowners.
These included community upliftment initiatives and job creation opportunities that arise during the construction and operational phases.