Kangnas Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape, on Tuesday celebrated the simultaneous completion of two major construction milestones – the erection of the first of its 61 wind turbines and the completion of its final turbine foundation.
Both of these milestones have been completed slightly ahead of schedule and within budget.
The wind farm’s construction schedule remains on track for commercial operations to start at the end of 2020.
The first wind turbine lifting is a pivotal point in the construction of the wind farm, with the next major construction milestone being the arrival of the main transformer and the energisation of the substation.
Turbine assembly takes about a day to complete, assuming that the weather is favourable, and includes six hours for the final rotor lifting, in addition to almost three hours of pre-assembly work.
“It’s a remarkable process to watch. The lifting exercise is rather complicated, with one of the two cranes raising the assembled 106-m-diameter rotor with the second crane providing support, this requires great skill and is a really impressive manoeuvre,” Kangnas Wind Farm assistant construction project manager Cebo Ngcai said.
Kangnas Wind Farm is providing employment to over 275 people from the surrounding local Springbok community during the construction phase.