South Africa unveils mega wind power project

TheLongyuan Mulilo De Aar Wind Power Project in South Africa has been successfully commissioned; therefore connecting an estimated 85,000 local residents to clean power.

Situated in the Northern Cape Province, the plant has a generating capacity of 100MW per annum.

The China Longyuan Power Group Corporation, in partnership with Mulilo Renewable Energy, set up the large-scale wind farm.

The Chinese firm won the contract in 2015 to develop two wind farms. The 100MW De Aar Phase I wind system and the 144MW De Aar Phase II North district facility. They were under the third round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Debt financing was provided by Nedbank Limited acting through its Nedbank Capital Division, and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited.

MN Jack, member of the Executive Council for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in Northern Cape Province explained that the project’s wind generation is the equivalent of 215,800 tonnes of standard coal. It also has an emission reduction of 619,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The project makes a positive contribution to the local energy structure and the economic development. Hopefully, all the local people are going to maximize the benefits and job opportunities offered by the project.

In October, the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and the Khobab Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape, marked a milestone as the wind farms officially connected to the Eskom grid.

Commenting on the development, country construction manager for Mainstream Renewable Power, Kevin Foster, said that they energized the wind farm substations with Eskom Transmission’s Helios substation on 28th September making it a pivotal point in the construction of the wind farms. “We will now continue the process of wind turbine commissioning,” he added.