Kangnas Wind Farm starts commercial operation

Kangnas Wind Farm

Situated outside of Springbok in the Northern Cape, this wind farm will generate enough clean power to satisfy the needs of 154,625 average South African households, as it is expected to generate over 513GWh of renewable energy each year, during its 20-year operations period.

Construction

This 140MW wind project comprises 61 turbines, and is one of 12 wind farms in this part of this REIPPP procurement round.

Following industry trends, as set up by the Department of Energy’s local content requirements, the wind farm achieved very high local content levels, exceeding 45%. This includes both locally manufactured turbine towers as well as the project’s mega transformer, helping to drive the demand for local manufacturers to offer items previously only available through import.

Construction commenced during June 2018. As with all the wind farms that were under construction at the time the country’s national Covid-19 lockdown kicked in, construction at this Northern Cape wind farm was halted and gradually picked up pace after 19 May 2020.

This renewable power plant will also help the country reduce its greenhouse carbon emissions, eliminating approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants. In addition to zero carbon emissions and reduced use of fossil fuels, the country

Community benefits

There is only one other wind farm to commence commercial operations during 2020, namely Perdekraal East Wind Farm, in the Western Cape’s town of Ceres, owned by the same equity partners as Kangnas Wind Farm,

Communities of Nababeep, Springbok, Concordia, Matjieskloof, Bergsig, Okiep and Carolusberg are the direct beneficiaries of developmental programmes, designed to create social resilience and local capacity. The wind farm has already been active during the construction period, and will continue to benefit these communities throughout the operations period. To-date community scholarships have been awarded; welfare and Covid-19 relief project funded; Early Childhood Development support provided; and enterprise development programmes implemented.

“As we enter this new phase, we are pleased to note that a number of our impactful development programmes are already in place, all of which drive socio-economic and enterprise development initiatives, in support of local communities,” says Christo Loots, construction programme manager, for Kangnas Wind Farm.