Energy company Enel’s renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power (EGP) South Africa has started construction on its 140 MW Oyster Bay Wind Farm, in the Kouga municipality, in the Eastern Cape.
The €180-million wind project comprises 41 turbines and will generate around 568 GWh/y, which effectively avoids 590 000 t/y of carbon dioxide emissions.
It will be Enel’s fourth wind energy project in the country.
Enel anticipates completion of the project during the second quarter of 2021.
The wind farm will be supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with State-owned power utility Eskom, as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
EGP was awarded five wind projects in April 2015, totalling 700 MW, in the fourth round of the REIPPPP.
EPG said it would use innovative tools and methods to build the Oyster Bay Wind Farm, including advanced digital platforms and software solutions to monitor and remotely support site activities and plant commissioning, digital tools to perform quality controls on site and smart tracking of wind turbine components, as well as an active safety system.
“These processes and tools will enable swifter, more accurate and reliable data collection, improving the quality of construction and facilitating communication between on-site and off-site teams,” the company stated.