Construction has begun on the 140MW Oyster Bay wind farm, in the Kouga Local Municipality, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power (EGP) announced the reports.
The project which is Enel’s fourth wind project in the country, will involve an investment of approximately US $201m. It will 41-turbines and will be capable of generating around 568GWh of power per year and eliminate around 590,000t of carbon dioxide annually.
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Oyster Bay wind farm
Advanced tools and methods including; monitor and remotely support activities at the site, plant commissioning, conduct quality controls on site and smart track wind turbine components, will be used for the construction of the project.
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 wind farm will be supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with the South African energy utility Eskom, as part of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) tender, which awarded in April 2015 a total of five wind projects for 700MW to the Enel Group in its fourth round.
“With the start of construction of the fourth wind project in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, we are continuing to contribute to the socio-economic development of the area through our zero-emission energy and initiatives to create shared value,” said Antonio Cammisecra.
“These initiatives include the innovative model implemented at the Oyster Bay construction site, as well as the sustainability activities focused on scientific and technical education in the area around the project. Looking ahead, we will continue to harness South Africa’s abundance of renewable resources, creating a virtuous circle of sustainable energy generation, education and development,” he added.
Energy demand
Energy demand in South Africa is expected to rise steadily and double by 2025. Due to the high wind velocity on the coast of the country,Cape Town has implemented multiple wind farms which are successful in generating significant amounts of electricity for residents. The windfarm is expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2021.
