Electricity and Control August 2022

ENERGY MANAGEMENT + THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Soetwater adds another 147 MW to the grid

Following fast on the recently announced connection to the grid of its 147 MWKarusa wind farm in the Laingsburg Municipality of the Western Cape, Enel Green Power South Africa has, in addition, connected the 147 MW Soetwater wind farm, which is located in the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in the Northern Cape. The Soetwater plant has the capacity to generate 585 GWh per year, potentially averting the emission of some 600 000 tonnes of CO 2 into the atmosphere an nually. Like the Karusa wind farm, the Soetwater facility features Vestas V136-4.2 MW wind turbines, the largest on the African continent to date. The project was awarded to Enel Green Power in April 2013 as part of round four of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and is supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement with the national energy utility, Eskom. Soetwater brings the number of EGP RSA wind farms in operation up to seven. This includes Nojoli (88 MW), Oyster Bay (140 MW), Nxuba (140 MW), Gibson Bay (111 MW) Garob (140 MW) and Karusa (147 MW). Collectively, the company now has 12 operational wind and solar projects in South Africa. With all projects

now in operation, it has an overall installed ca pacity of 1.2 GW of renewable energy. Manuele Battisti, the newly appointed Country Manager of EGP RSA, says construc tion of the Soetwater facility, which involves a 200-million-euro investment in South Africa, began in September 2019.

The 147 MW Soetwater wind farm in the Northern Cape is now connected to the electricity grid.

“The construction process was hampered at times by stop/start delays in response to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. The hard lockdown in 2020, in particular, resulted in difficulties relating to the movement of peo ple between provinces, as well as travel for experts and commissioning teams from other parts of the world. This highlights, all the more, what a significant achievement this project completion is – for the project team and for the country,” he adds. EGP RSA is committed to playing a key role in help ing the country solve its energy crisis using renewable energy solutions. The company also supports local em ployment, among its own staff as well as in hiring local contractors during project construction, with the aim of promoting socio-economic and enterprise development.

For more information visit: www.enelgreenpower.com