Global wind and solar company, Mainstream Renewable Power, today started overseeing the transportation of wind turbine tower sections from their manufacturing facility near Cape Town to the Noupoort Wind Farm site in South Africa’s Northern Cape. Mainstream is currently building three wind farms in the country’s Northern Cape which have a combined capacity of 360 megawatts. All 157 wind turbine towers for the three wind farms are being manufactured by GRI – Renewable Industries at its local manufacturing facility located in Atlantis.

The R300 million facility currently employs 240 people and will increase this figure to 270 during 2016.  It is capable of producing 150 turbine towers a year; the first 35 of which are for the 80MW Noupoort wind farm which is being built by Mainstream. The 35 towers are being transported in 140 sections along the 1,000km route which takes four days to complete.

“We are delighted to be receiving the first of these locally manufactured wind turbine towers at Noupoort Wind Farm. Local content has a vital role to play in the long-term growth and sustainability of South Africa’s hugely successful renewable energy programme,” explained Martina Flanagan, Project Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm.

Wind turbine towers await transportation to Noupoort Wind Farm

The three wind farms comprise the 140MW Khobab wind farm and the 140MW Loeriesfontein 2 wind farm, both located in the Namakwa District Municipality, as well as the 80MW Noupoort wind farm located in Umsobomvu Local Municipality.

Janek Winand, the head of Wind Power and Renewables at Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa says: “Adding local value by supporting development is indeed a key priority for Siemens. In the pursuit of this we have managed to be part of the local manufacturing of key components for the wind farm industry through building a new tower factory in Atlantis. Creating sustainable work opportunities and development within the community.”

Ends.

The Noupoort, Kohbab and Loeriesfontein 2 wind farms are owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

• Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform which aims to provide 1,000MW of wind and solar power by 2018. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, the global pan-emerging market private equity firm, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Renewable Energy Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has announced that its wind turbine foundations are utilising one of the world’s lowest quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation.  The foundations are designed using an 89% replacement of cement, resulting in, what we believe to be, one of the world’s lowest carbon footprints for any wind farm foundation; according to research scientist, and head of Murray & Roberts’ Concrete Centre for Excellence, Cyril Attwell.

Loeriesfontein wind farm (140MW) Ground Breaking – 8 September 2015

The first two bases, which were completed on 13 October, utilised an 80% replacement of Portland cement, whilst the remaining foundations use a unique design comprising 35kgs of high grade Portland cement per cubic meter, an 89% reduction from a standard concrete mix.  This composition has resulted in the wind farm’s carbon footprint being reduced to approximately 90.7kg of carbon dioxide per cubic meter. Ground Granulated Corex Slag (GGCS), a by-product from the iron industry, is used to replace 89% of the cement.  “Cement manufacturing is typically a highly energy intensive process. By substituting the cement with a by-product such as GGCS, we are able to reduce our carbon footprint considerably,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

A twenty-eight day compressive strength test has been completed, which indicated that the 80% replacement ratio achieved an impressive strength of 55MPa (megapascals), and an expected ultimate strength of 100MPa, within a fifty-six day period. “The strength of concrete is measured in megapascals; theoretically a cubic metre of concrete that is rated 30 MPa, is able to withstand the weight of six bull elephants, whereas these foundations are able to withstand the approximate mass of 20 bull elephants standing on a square centimetre of concrete – a phenomenal feat,” demonstrated Cyril Attwell, Murray & Roberts Construction, Group Concrete & Research Manager.

A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). “The achieved reduction in our carbon footprint is phenomenal, especially considering that a standard 30MPa concrete as supplied by the ready-mix industry equates to a carbon footprint of approximately 300kgs to 350kgs of CO₂ per cubic meter,” explained Leo Quinn, Project Manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

Traditionally, 30 MPa concrete requires between 300kg and 350kg of ordinary cement per cubic metre. But now scientists working for Murray & Roberts have developed a technology that meets the 30 MPa standard using just 25kg of cement or even less. Not only does it meet the standard, it far exceeds it. To date strengths of up to 52 MPa have been achieved on other sites using Murray & Roberts’ patented ARC (Advanced Recrystallisation) technology and 0kg of Portland cement per cubic metre.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm is situated within the Hantam Municipality and will comprise 61 wind turbines each with an output of 140MW and will generate approximately 563,500 MWh/year of clean, renewable energy to the national grid. The wind farm will avoid approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants and generate enough to power around 120 000 average South African households.

The site, which spans a total of 3 453 hectares, was chosen for its excellent wind resource, favourable construction conditions and straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation. The wind turbines will be supplied by world-leading manufacturer Siemens Wind Power, with the blades, hubs and nacelles that compose them arriving from overseas at a nearby port and being transported by road to Loeriesfontein.  The 99m turbine towers are to be manufactured by GRI, in Atlantis, in the Western Cape. Civil and electrical works are to be completed by a consortium comprised of Murray and Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The Loeriesfontein Wind Farm is part of the South African Government’s Round 3 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) is expected to be operational by December 2017.

Noupoort Wind Farm (80MW), in South Africa’s Northern Cape, has announced that it has completed the erection of the first of its thirty-five wind turbines.  This is a pivotal point in the construction of the wind farm, with the next major construction milestone being the energisation of the substation. All the wind turbine foundations were completed ahead of schedule last month and the main transformer as recently delivered to the site.  This transformer is responsible for increasing the voltage from 33kV to 132KV, which is the voltage at which the will be transferred to Eskom’s national grid.

This ZAR1.9 billion wind farm is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by mid-2016 and will be the first wind farm to complete construction in this Province, as part of the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. “We are extremely pleased be on schedule and on budget,” commented Martina Flanagan, Project Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm (pictured).

The wind turbines, which are 100m tall to allow for optimum energy production, take a single day to construct, assuming that the weather is favourable.  The three 53m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine.  This is a complicated lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor whilst another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position. “With two cranes working simultaneously, it is really impressive to watch the 108 meter diameter rotor being lifted,” said Flanagan.

Milestones:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started in May 2015.
• All 35 turbine foundations were completed, before schedule, on 20 November 2015.
• Transportation of the various components commenced on 19 October 2015.
• More than 100 of the 315 abnormal loads have already successfully made their way to the wind farm.
• It is expected that 160 loads will be delivered before the end of the year, when transportation will be halted for the school holiday period.

Siemens Wind Power along with their subcontractors, Fairwind and BMS, are responsible for the instillation.

The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 305 000MWh each year of clean, renewable energy to the national grid and will avoid roughly 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants.

Further information is available on the Noupoort Wind Farm website: www.noupoortwind.co.za.

Mainstream today announces its 80 megawatt Noupoort Wind Farm in South Africa’s Northern Cape is now connected to the Eskom grid and commissioning of wind turbines has commenced, one year to the day since it reached financial close and started construction.

This ZAR1.9 billion wind farm is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by July 2016 and is the first wind farm to be connected to the grid under Round 3 of the South African Government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Construction Manager, Mainstream’s Martina Flanagan said: “Not only is renewable energy generation cheaper than fossil fuels and nuclear but this shows it can be built in a fraction of the time. South Africa needs large quantities of low-cost power and it needs it now. This wind farm ticks all those boxes.

She continued: “One year to the day since we reached financial close and started construction, the wind farm is connected to the grid and the wind turbines are being commissioned. This wind farm will supply enough renewable electricity to power more than 69,000 South African homes.”

Eddie O’Connor, founder and CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power, comments: “We are incredibly proud to play such an important role in helping to build South Africa’s new energy capacity. This project is set to deliver 80 megawatts of much-needed sustainable and low carbon electricity to the country’s power grid.”

Mainstream has an additional two wind farms currently in construction in South Africa under the government’s highly successful REIPPPP and a further two wind farms expected to reach financial close this year. The company delivered the Jeffreys Bay wind farm and two solar PV plants into operation in 2014 under the first round of the programme.

Notes to Editor:

Project milestones achieved to date:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started in May 2015.
• All 35 turbine foundations were completed, before schedule, on 20 November 2015.
• Transportation of the various components commenced on 19 October 2015.
• 20 of the project’s total 35 wind turbines have already been erected.

About Noupoort Wind Farm

The Noupoort Wind farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

• Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform which aims to provide 1,000MW of wind and solar power by 2018. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, the global pan-emerging market private equity firm, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001.

Further information is available on the Noupoort Wind Farm website: www.noupoortwind.co.za.

All thirty-five wind turbines have now been  installed at the 80 megawatt Noupoort Wind Farm in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The wind farm is swiftly moving along to its Commercial Operations Date in July this year; this follows closely on the announcement that the project is connected to the Eskom grid and commissioning of wind turbines has commenced. “We have reached a couple of major construction milestones with the energised substation and operation of the first turbines a few weeks ago and now the completion of all of the turbine installations,” explained Martina Flanagan, Project Manager of Noupoort Wind Farm.

Construction of the wind farm is progressing smoothly with the transportation of all the various components having safely reached Noupoort Wind Farm earlier this month.   The final load from the Port of Ngqura left to site on 4 March and the final tower section arrived from Atlantis on 24 March 2016, marking the final of the 315 abnormal loads. The Project began transportation of these massive turbine components during October 2015, completing a distance of more than 200,000 km over the last five months.  “This has been a huge undertaking and we would like to thank the public for their patience and support as well as the various teams for their hard work,” said Flanagan.

The dedicated turbine installation crew from BMS and Fairwind began the erection of the first of its thirty-five wind turbines in December last year. The installation crew worked many late nights and early mornings to take advantage of the periods of low wind to install all the turbines in four months and ahead of schedule.

The Siemens wind turbines, which are 100m tall to allow for optimum energy production, take a single day to construct, assuming the weather is favourable.  The three 53m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine.  This is a complicated lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor whilst another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position.

The wind turbine’s tip reaches an impressive 154m into the sky when one of the blades stands vertically. The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox; and weighs 82.5 tonnes.

This ZAR1.9 billion project is the first wind farm, as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme’s round three, to energize and is expected to also be the first to complete construction in the Northern Province by mid-2016.”

Milestones:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started in May 2015.
• All 35 turbine foundations were completed, before schedule, on 20 November 2015.
• Transportation of the various components commenced on 19 October 2015.
• All 315 abnormal loads successfully made their way to the wind farm by 17^th April 2016.
• Energized the substation on 12^th February 2016
• Energised and the first turbines on 23^rd February 2016.
• All 35 wind turbines erected by 30^th March 2016.

Further information is available on the Noupoort Wind Farm website.

The Noupoort Wind farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

• Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform which aims to provide 1,000MW of wind and solar power by 2018. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, the global pan-emerging market private equity firm, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

The Service of Environmental Assessment has approved Mainstream’s 264MW Cerro Tigre wind farm located close to the town of Antofagasta in the north of Chile.  The project, which consists of 80 wind turbines in an area of ​​1,131 hectares, will involve an investment of approximately USD630 million and will be connected to the northern grid.

Bart Doyle, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power Chile, said “This work will contribute to the development of a diversified, clean and reliable energy mix which will provide an efficient solution to the country and the people of this region. We are a company that develops its own projects and we are always looking for new opportunities for solar and wind energy developments, and the Region of Antofagasta has important attributes that enable this”.

This year Mainstream will also start the construction of two wind farms in Chile which have a combined generation capacity of 300MW; the Sarco wind farm which is located in Atacama, and the Aurora wind farm, located in the region of Los Lagos. Both wind farms will provide electricity to the Central Interconnected System.

Loeriesfontein and Khobab wind projects commenced with the transportation of wind turbine tower components on 20 June 2016. The wind turbine tower sections are being routed from Atlantis, in the Western Cape, to Loeriesfontein, in the Northern Cape.

“Over 300 tower sections will commence travel to Loeriesfontein on the N1 via Worcester, Laingsburg, Beaufort West, Calvinia and on to the wind farm sites in Loeriesfontein, a five day journey totalling 1 396 km,” explained Kevin Foster, Project Manager for Khobab wind project.

Commuters may be affected by the oversized loads and drivers have been advised to be cautious and adhere to traffic regulations. To assist, transport schedules are available to the public via the wind farms websites. Furthermore, transportation is prohibited at night, during the school holiday period, on public holidays, during festivals or other special events. In addition to this, abnormal loads will be avoided during peak hour traffic through Beaufort West as far as possible.

Foster continued, “Whilst every effort is made to minimise traffic disruptions, we urge road users to exercise extra caution when close to the abnormal loads and obey all traffic management instructions; extra care should be taken if passing the vehicles.”

Khobab and Loeriesfontein Wind projects, which together span 6,653 hectares, will produce an impressive combined output of 280 megawatts generated by their 122 wind turbines. This is equivalent of 240,000 average households being powered each year, providing a massive boost to energy provision in the country. The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation and the favourable construction conditions.

Transport schedules can be viewed on the project websites, www.loeriesfonteinwind.co.za and www.khobabwind.co.za. Advertisements in local newspapers will also assist commuters and travellers in their planning.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has announced the completion of all 61 of its wind turbine foundations.  The final foundation was completed in line with the construction schedule, on 17^th June 2016.  Work on the foundations began in October last year, with employees from the local community working tirelessly through the days, putting in long hours to complete the first foundation on 13 October 2015.  “We would like to thank the local workers who have ensured that our project has continued to forge ahead on time, their commitment is greatly appreciated and something that the community as a whole can be proud of,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

The majority of the labour is employed from the Loeriesfontein community, in support of local employment and upliftment.  “As part of our commitment to skills development and community development, we have provided local employees with the transferable skills training,” added Quinn.

The material excavated from the foundation bases was of a good quality and was subsequently reused on site, specifically for the wind farm road construction and in the preparation of the turbine hard stands, situated adjacent to the foundations.

Each turbine base has a diameter of 19 metres comprising over 45 tonnes of reinforced steel. These turbine foundations are utilising one of the world’s lowest quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation.  Slag, a by-product from the iron industry, is used to replace 89% of the cement. This has resulted in what is believed to be, one of the world’s lowest carbon footprints for any wind farm foundation.

“In closing, we would like to once again thank the 135 plus individuals, who worked diligently to complete these foundations, from batching the concrete to floating it, concluded Quinn. Situated in the Hantam Municipality 60km north of Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape, the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm will have sixty one 99m-high wind turbines erected on 3,453 hectares of agricultural land, and will connect into a 132kV Eskom line.

The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation approximately 11km south of the site, and studies showed that there would be minimum environmental impact.

When operating at full capacity, the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm will generate approximately 563,500 MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 120 000 South African homes.

Khobab Wind Farm has announced the completion of its first foundation pour on 30 June 2016. The foundations are designed using an 89% replacement of cement, one of the world’s lowest carbon wind farm foundation footprints, making use of the same formulation that its sister farm, Loeriesfontein Wind Farm, successfully used in the completion of its foundations. “We are currently testing an even higher cement replacement formulation and hope to achieve the desired strength test results soon,” explained Kevin Foster, Project Manager for Khobab Wind Farm.

Situated in the Hantam Municipality, 60km north of Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape, Khobab Wind Farm is currently employing over 100 local workers on site.  All 61 foundations are due for completion by mid December 2016.

Khobab Wind Farm is utilising extremely low quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation of its wind turbine foundations.  “This revolutionary formula has been tested in the adjacent wind farm and we are confident to continue to use it in our foundations.  The insights gained have allowed us to continue to test lower levels of Portland cement” said Foster.

The bases use a unique design comprising 35kgs of high grade Portland cement per cubic meter, almost 90% less than a standard concrete mix.  This composition means that the wind farm’s carbon footprint is reduced to approximately 90.7kg of carbon dioxide per cubic meter. Ground Granulated Corex Slag (GGCS), a by-product from the iron industry, is used to replace 89% of the cement.  “Cement manufacturing is typically a high energy intensive process; so by substituting the cement with a by-product the carbon footprint has been considerably lowered,” continued Foster.

A twenty-eight day compressive strength test was completed when the formulation was originally tested; it indicated that the 89% replacement ratio achieved an impressive strength of 55MPa (megapascals), and an expected ultimate strength of 100MPa, within a fifty-six day period. “The strength of concrete is measured in megapascals; theoretically a cubic metre of concrete that is rated 30 MPa, is able to withstand the weight of six bull elephants, whereas these foundations are able to withstand the approximate mass of 20 bull elephants standing on a square centimetre of concrete – a phenomenal feat,” demonstrated Cyril Attwell, Murray & Roberts Construction, Group Concrete & Research Manager.

A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). “The achieved reduction in our carbon footprint is phenomenal, especially considering that a standard 30MPa concrete as supplied by the ready-mix industry equates to a carbon footprint of approximately 300kgs to 350kgs of CO₂ per cubic meter,” added Foster.

Traditionally, 30 MPa concrete requires between 300kg and 350kg of ordinary cement per cubic metre. But now scientists working for Murray & Roberts have developed a technology that meets the 30 MPa standard using just 25kg of cement or even less. Not only does it meet the standard, it far exceeds it. To date strengths of up to 52 MPa have been achieved on other sites using Murray & Roberts’ patented ARC (Advanced Recrystallisation) technology and 0kg of Portland cement per cubic metre.

Khobab Wind Farm is situated within the Hantam Municipality and will comprise 61 wind turbines each with an output of 140MW and will generate approximately 563,500 MWh/year of clean, renewable energy to the national grid. The wind farm will avoid approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants and generate enough to power around 120 000 average South African households.

The site, which spans a total of 3,200 hectares, was chosen for its excellent wind resource, favourable construction conditions and straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation. The wind turbines will be supplied by world-leading manufacturer Siemens Wind Power, with the blades, hubs and nacelles that compose them arriving from overseas at a nearby port and being transported by road to Loeriesfontein.  The majority of the 99m turbine towers are to be manufactured by GRI, in Atlantis, in the Western Cape. Civil and electrical works are to be completed by a consortium comprised of Murray and Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The Khobab Wind Farm is part of the South African Government’s Round 3 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) is expected to be operational by December 2017.

About Khobab Wind Farm: 

Khobab Wind Farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

• Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform, which has in excess of 1,300MW of wind and solar power projects in its portfolio. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, the global pan-emerging market private equity firm, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Khobab Community Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

Noupoort Wind plant has achieved its Commercial Operations Date (COD) on schedule and on budget, making it the first wind plant to successfully achieve operation as part of the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). All 35 turbines of this ZAR1.9billion, 80MW wind plant, have been commissioned and connected to the Eskom Grid and the project satisfied all of Eskom’s requirements on 11 July 2016.  “We are thrilled to have reached this milestone on target and to have met all Eskom’s requirements including Grid Code Compliance, thereby achieving COD just 17 months after construction commenced,” said Savva Antoniadis, Country Programme Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm.

South Africa’s relatively new wind energy sector is already supplying enough electrical energy to power more than half a million households from 15 large wind plant generating over 3 GW of wind energy.  In addition to the enormous water savings, significant in the country’s current state of drought, REIPPPP ensures that renewable energy projects benefit nearby communities. So far in excess of ZAR90 billion has been committed to developmental initiatives under this programme. “We are currently implementing various economic development projects, which include Capacity Building for existing and prospective entrepreneurs; and local maths and science development programmes that incorporate science and computer labs as well as local Wi-Fi infrastructure,” explained Antoniadis.

The team at Noupoort Wind plant has been working closely with the various Eskom teams to achieve this milestone, but value the positive community relationships equally as much.  “Our Project has received resounding support from the local municipality and the surrounding communities who supported us throughout the construction phase, for this we most grateful and look forward to a long and mutually beneficially relationship,” added Antoniadis.

Situated in the Umsobomvu Municipal Area located 10km east of Noupoort in the Northern Cape, Noupoort Wind plant spans 7500 hectares and comprises thirty-five 99m-high wind turbines. The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into the Eskom grid, and studies showed that there would be little environmental impact.

When operating at full capacity, the 80MW Noupoort Wind Plant will generate around 304 800MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 69 000 South African homes. Noupoort Wind Farm will effectively eliminate approximately 300 000 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 will benefit from minimal water consumption during the generation process and significant social and enterprise development programmes.

Construction Milestones:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started in May 2015.
• All 35 turbine foundations were completed 20 November 2015.
• First turbine lifting completed in December 2015
• All 35 wind turbines erected by 30 March 2016.
• Energized the substation on 12 February 2016
• Energised the first turbines on 23 February 2016.
• COD achieved on 11 July 2016

 Further information is available on the Noupoort Wind Farm website: www.noupoortwind.co.za.

BOILER PLATE:

The Noupoort Wind farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

• Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform, which has in excess of 1,300MW of wind and solar power projects in its portfolio. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, a leading investor in growth markets, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

Loeriesfontein wind farm has announced that it has completed the lifting of the first of its 61 wind turbines.  This 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. This ZAR3.5 billion wind farm is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by end-2017, as part of the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

The wind turbines, which are 100m tall to allow for optimum energy production, take a single day to erect, assuming the weather is favourable and the first two section of towers have been erected.  The three 53m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine tower.  This is a complicated lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor whilst another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position. The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox; and weighs 82.5 tonnes. “The process of constructing the turbines requires two cranes to work simultaneously; the lifting of the massive 108 meter diameter rotor requires great skill and is a really impressive manoeuvre to watch,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager of Loeriesfontein wind farm.

Siemens Wind Power, along with their sub-contractors, Fairwind and BMS, are responsible for the installation of the wind turbine generators.  The same teams will move onto the turbine lifting for the adjacent, Khobab wind farm, next year. “We are pleased to be working with an experienced crew, who fairly recently managed the lifting for Noupoort wind farm and will later move onto our sister wind farm,” added Quinn.

The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation approximately 11km south of the site, and studies showed that there would be minimal environmental impact.

When operating at full capacity, the Loeriesfontein wind farm will generate approximately 563,500 MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 120 000 South African homes.

Further information is available on the Loeriesfontein wind farm website: www.loeriesfonteinwid.co.za.

About Loeriesfontein wind farm:

Loeriesfontein wind farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:

Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform, which has in excess of 1,300MW of wind and solar power projects in its portfolio. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, the global pan-emerging market private equity firm, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.

Loeriesfontein Community Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.

Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).

The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.

Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.

Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

More than 100 people have attended a ceremony in Llanquihue to recognise more than 70 community members who successfully completed a training programme organised by Mainstream Renewable Power. The training, which was delivered by CADES Foundation, was carried out in the areas of food management, steel reinforcement, heavy machinery operation and driving.

“These training courses are a fundamental part of Mainstream’s commitment to local sustainable development. In this case, community members were able to gain core skills that will go towards helping them to secure employment. We are satisfied with the results and we look forward to strengthening our ties with the community of Llanquihue” said Carlos Moranchel, Project Manager of the Aurora Wind Farm.

During the ceremony a certificate was given in recognition to those who completed the courses.  The courses included food handling, steel reinforcement and operation of heavy machinery, and were delivered by CADES foundation which has extensive experience in customised training courses which are tailored to the specific needs of each participant. Professional driving courses were given by Automóvil Club de Chile, one of the driving schools with the highest quality standards nationwide.

The completion of this programme demonstrates that the company and local community can work together to co-design programmes that will benefit the community and the company and create shared value, since the skills acquired by the community can also be very beneficial for the construction and operation phases of the Aurora wind farm.

Mainstream is present in the region through the Aurora Wind Farm project which is expected to begin construction at the end of this year and through the Puelche Sur wind farm project, which is currently under environmental evaluation.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has announced that its wind turbine foundations are utilising one of the world’s lowest quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation.  The foundations are designed using an 89% replacement of cement, resulting in, what we believe to be, one of the world’s lowest carbon footprints for any wind farm foundation; according to research scientist, and head of Murray & Roberts’ Concrete Centre for Excellence, Cyril Attwell.

Loeriesfontein wind farm (140MW) Ground Breaking – 8 September 2015

The first two bases, which were completed on 13 October, utilised an 80% replacement of Portland cement, whilst the remaining foundations use a unique design comprising 35kgs of high grade Portland cement per cubic meter, an 89% reduction from a standard concrete mix.  This composition has resulted in the wind farm’s carbon footprint being reduced to approximately 90.7kg of carbon dioxide per cubic meter. Ground Granulated Corex Slag (GGCS), a by-product from the iron industry, is used to replace 89% of the cement.  “Cement manufacturing is typically a highly energy intensive process. By substituting the cement with a by-product such as GGCS, we are able to reduce our carbon footprint considerably,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

A twenty-eight day compressive strength test has been completed, which indicated that the 80% replacement ratio achieved an impressive strength of 55MPa (megapascals), and an expected ultimate strength of 100MPa, within a fifty-six day period. “The strength of concrete is measured in megapascals; theoretically a cubic metre of concrete that is rated 30 MPa, is able to withstand the weight of six bull elephants, whereas these foundations are able to withstand the approximate mass of 20 bull elephants standing on a square centimetre of concrete – a phenomenal feat,” demonstrated Cyril Attwell, Murray & Roberts Construction, Group Concrete & Research Manager.

A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). “The achieved reduction in our carbon footprint is phenomenal, especially considering that a standard 30MPa concrete as supplied by the ready-mix industry equates to a carbon footprint of approximately 300kgs to 350kgs of CO₂ per cubic meter,” explained Leo Quinn, Project Manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

Traditionally, 30 MPa concrete requires between 300kg and 350kg of ordinary cement per cubic metre. But now scientists working for Murray & Roberts have developed a technology that meets the 30 MPa standard using just 25kg of cement or even less. Not only does it meet the standard, it far exceeds it. To date strengths of up to 52 MPa have been achieved on other sites using Murray & Roberts’ patented ARC (Advanced Recrystallisation) technology and 0kg of Portland cement per cubic metre.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm is situated within the Hantam Municipality and will comprise 61 wind turbines each with an output of 140MW and will generate approximately 563,500 MWh/year of clean, renewable energy to the national grid. The wind farm will avoid approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants and generate enough to power around 120 000 average South African households.

The site, which spans a total of 3 453 hectares, was chosen for its excellent wind resource, favourable construction conditions and straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation. The wind turbines will be supplied by world-leading manufacturer Siemens Wind Power, with the blades, hubs and nacelles that compose them arriving from overseas at a nearby port and being transported by road to Loeriesfontein.  The 99m turbine towers are to be manufactured by GRI, in Atlantis, in the Western Cape. Civil and electrical works are to be completed by a consortium comprised of Murray and Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The Loeriesfontein Wind Farm is part of the South African Government’s Round 3 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) is expected to be operational by December 2017.

Noupoort Wind Farm has been officially declared operational by Mr Mzwandile Toto, District Mayor of Umsobumvo Municipality, in a proud moment for the town of Noupoort, historically known for its railway activity in the eastern Karoo region.

During the inaugural ceremony the Official handover of the Noupoort Wind Farm Keys were passed from Miss Aniqah Misbach, Assistant Project Manager for Mainstream Renewable Power to Mr Dennis Solomon, the new Plant Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm. “We are honoured to be welcomed by the people of Noupoort who have been incredibly supportive of our project during its construction. It is now our chance to give back to the community during our 20-year operational period, where we will be investing through our economic development programmes,” said Dennis Solomon, Plant Manager for Noupoort Wind Farm.
Mainstream’s Group Finance Director, Terry Ryan, speaking at the inauguration said: “Today is of note because it is the first Round 3 wind farm to reach commercial operation. This is Mainstream’s fourth renewable energy project to reach commercial operation in South Africa. We also developed and built the Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm as well as the Droogfontein and De Aar solar power facilities from Round 1. And we’re currently building two wind farms near Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape which are on track to start operating in December next year.
He continued: “One of the most significant things about this 80 megawatt wind powered generation facility is that it took just 17 months to build it, from start to finish. This is testament to the great team that came together to make it happen.”

Chris Antonopoulos, CEO of Lekela Power, the majority shareholder of the Project, proudly cut the ribbon to signify the official activation of Noupoort Wind. “We have a focus on community investment throughout all of our projects to help create thriving and empowered communities including education, skills development, employment and enterprise, environment and energy investment,” said Chris Antonopoulos.
Commercial activity in Noupoort was previously heavily dependent on the railway, which has largely dwindled due to the decline in rail activity. This makes the socio economic and enterprise development initiatives even more relevant to the local community of Noupoort than where wind energy projects are situated close to prosperous regions.
Noupoort Wind Farm is currently implementing various economic development projects, which include Capacity Building for existing and prospective entrepreneurs; local maths and science development programmes that incorporate science and computer labs as well as local Wi-Fi infrastructure.
Lekela Power, a joint venture between Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, is a pan-African renewable energy platform, with more than 1,300MW of wind and solar power projects in its portfolio. South Africa is an important renewable energy hub for the group which has a total of 360MW in assets, of which two wind farms are currently still in construction.
The Noupoort Community Trust, which owns a 5% share in Noupoort Wind Farm, has been equally funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Noupoort Wind Farm Shareholder. A local community Trustee has already been appointed. The Trust was established to carry out public benefit activities in the local community.
Other members of the consortium that own Noupoort Wind Farm include: Thebe Investment Corporation; The IDEAS Managed Fund; Futuregrowth Asset Management; Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. ‘Having been involved in the development of this project since its inception it’s heartening to see Noupoort Wind Farm entering into commercial operation,” said Genesis Eco-Energy MD, Davin Chown.
All 35 turbines of this ZAR1.9billion, 80MW wind farm are now producing clean renewable electrical energy to meet the needs of almost 70 000 average South African households. Noupoort Wind Farm achieved its Commercial Operations Date on schedule and on budget.

About the Noupoort Wind Farm:

Situated in the Umsobomvu Municipal Area located 10km east of Noupoort in the Northern Cape, Noupoort Wind Farm spans 7500 hectares and comprises thirty five 99m-high wind turbines.
The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into the Eskom grid, and studies showed that there would be little environmental impact.
Noupoort Wind Farm will generate around 304 800MWh of clean renewable energy per year and eliminate approximately 300 000 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 will benefit from minimal water consumption during the generation process and significant social and enterprise development programmes.
Further information is available on the Noupoort Wind Farm website.

• The Noupoort Wind farm is owned by a consortium dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa:
  Lekela Power: Lekela Power is a pan-African renewable energy platform, which has in excess of 1,300MW of wind and solar power projects in its portfolio. It is a 60:40 joint venture between Actis, a leading investor in growth markets, and Mainstream Renewable Power, the global wind and solar company.
• Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust: Established by the project company with the objective of carrying out public benefit activities to benefit the local community in the areas of enterprise development, education and health.
• Thebe Investment Corporation; one of South Africa’s most established broad based BEE Investment management companies and leading investor in the Energy & Resources sector (advised by Bridge Capital).
• The IDEAS Managed Fund, is managed by Old Mutual Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Investment Group one of Africa’s largest independent investment managers.
• Futuregrowth Asset Management, a pathfinder in fixed interest and developmental investing.
• Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital. Genesis Eco Energy is a pioneering South African renewable energy developer which has been active in South Africa since 2001. Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital is a resource efficiency private equity fund that has garnered additional support of two of its investors DEG (The German Development Bank) and FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) in the investment across the Mainstream portfolio.

Loeriesfontein wind farm has announced that it has achieved a million hours without a single lost-time-incident, which is a significant health and safety highlight in this renewable energy project’s construction programme.

Approximately 70% of the workforce come from the Loeriesfontein community and have directly benefitted from the skills development programmes.  This work experience will benefit the adjacent Khobab wind farm which is also currently under construction.

“We believe that we have been able to achieve this major milestone of 1 021 962 hours without a lost time incident, due to the training and development initiatives that our local workforce has undergone over the last 18 months,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager of Loeriesfontein wind farm.

Loeriesfontein wind farm has completed the lifting of 26 wind turbine generators as of 2 November 2016, achieving an average of 2.5 wind turbine liftings per week, often with two simultaneous liftings underway.  The next major construction milestone will be the arrival of the main transformer and the energisation of the substation.

This ZAR3.5 billion wind farm is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by end-2017, as part of the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

When operating at full capacity, the Loeriesfontein wind farm will generate approximately 563,500 MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 120,000 South African homes.

Further information is available on the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm website: www.loeriesfonteinwind.co.za.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has announced that it has completed the lifting of the first 30 of its 61 wind turbine generators (WTG). The wind farm is achieving an average of 2.5 WTG liftings per week, often with two simultaneous liftings underway.

The wind turbines, which are 100m tall, take a couple of days to erect, assuming the weather is favourable and the first two sections of towers have been erected. The three 53m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine tower. This is a complex lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor whilst another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position. The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox and weighs 82.5 tonnes. “The process of constructing the turbines requires two cranes to work simultaneously; the lifting of the massive 108 meter diameter rotor requires great skill and is a really impressive manoeuvre to watch,” said Leo Quinn, Project Manager of Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

Siemens Wind Power, along with their sub-contractors, Fairwind and BMS, are responsible for the installation of the wind turbine generators. The same teams will move onto the turbine lifting for the adjacent, Khobab Wind Farm, next year. “We are pleased to be working with an experienced crew, who fairly recently managed the lifting for Noupoort Wind Farm and will later move onto our sister wind farm,” added Quinn.

The next major construction milestone will be the arrival of the main transformer and the energisation of the substation.
When operating at full capacity, the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm will generate approximately 563,500 MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 120 000 South African homes.

Further information is available on the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm website.

Khobab wind farm and Loeriesfontein wind farm, in the Northern Cape, have both received their main transformers.  The transformers made their way to the sister wind farms, via road transportation from Johannesburg, marking another important milestone in their construction process.

These 160MvA (Mega Volt Amp) transformers are to be housed in the substations, from where all the generated power is transferred to the electricity grid.  “These transformers are responsible for increasing the voltage from 33kV to 132KV, which is the voltage required to transfer power to Eskom’s national grid,” explained Project Manager of Khobab Wind Farm, Kevin Foster.

Each wind turbine is connected to a step-up transformer which boosts the generating output of the wind turbine generator from 690 V to 33 kV. These transformers are located at the base of the wind turbine. From here the cables throughout the wind farm bring the 33 kV electricity from the step up transformers to convene at the substation where the main transformer is situated. The main transformer, which was manufactured by Actom , plays an important role in the wind farm’s power generation efficiency.

CONCO is responsible for the electrical component of the balance of plant works, including the engineering, procurement and construction of the medium voltage collector system, substation and overhead line connection.

The projects are currently employing around 500 workers, 70% of which come from the Loeriesfontein community and range from general labourers up to machine operators.  “We are pleased that construction is on track so far, in fact, we are ahead of schedule on a number of components,” added Leo Quinn, Project Manager of Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

Milestones Achieved:

• Loeriesfontein wind farm completed all turbine foundations on 17th June 2016.
• Khobab wind farm is expected to complete all turbine foundations by end December 2016.
• Transportation of the various wind turbine components commenced on 18 April 2016.
• Loeriesfontein wind farm achieved over a million hours without a single lost-time-incident, on the 31 October 2016.
• Khobab wind farm and Loeriesfontein wind farm, officially commenced, September 2015.

The Loeriesfontein and Khobab wind farms are part of the South African Government’s Round 3 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) and will be managed both in terms of construction and operations by Mainstream Renewable Power South Africa. The Loeriesfontein and Khobab wind farms, are expected to be operational by December 2017.

Khobab wind farm has announced the completion of its final wind turbine foundation.  All 61 of its wind turbine foundations have been completed ahead of the schedule, on 5 December 2016.

The first foundation pour was finished on 30 June 2016 with employees from the local community working tirelessly through the days and putting in long hours.  The foundations used extremely low quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation of its wind turbine foundations.  In fact, these turbine foundations are the greenest in the country, alongside Khobab wind farm’s sister project, Loeriesfontein wind farm.

Each turbine base has a diameter of 19 metres comprising over 45 tonnes of reinforced steel. These turbine foundations are utilising one of the world’s lowest quantities of Portland cement in the concrete formulation.  Slag, a by-product from the iron industry, is used to replace 89% of the cement. This has resulted in what is believed to be, one of the world’s lowest carbon footprints for any wind farm foundation. “This revolutionary formula was tested and successfully implemented by our sister wind farm, so we were confident from the onset to use the same formulation,” said Kevin Foster, Project Manager for Khobab wind farm.

Situated in the Hantam Municipality, 60km north of Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape, Khobab wind farm employs the majority of its labour from the Loeriesfontein community, in support of local employment and upliftment. “We would like to thank the 100-plus local workers who have ensured that our project has continued to forge ahead on time, their commitment is appreciated,” added Foster.

He continued saying, “As part of our commitment to skills development and community development, we have provided local employees with transferable skills training, which can be used at other wind farms or other construction sites”.

The material excavated from the foundation bases was of a good quality and was subsequently re-used on site, specifically for the wind farm road construction and in the preparation of the turbine hard stands, situated adjacent to the foundations.

“In closing, we would like to once again thank everyone on the construction team, who worked diligently to complete these foundations, from batching the concrete to floating it,” concluded Foster.

The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into Eskom’s Helios substation approximately 11km south of the site, and studies showed that there would be minimum environmental impact.

When operating at full capacity, the Khobab wind farm will generate approximately 563,500 MWh of clean renewable energy per year; this is expected to supply electricity to power up to 120 000 South African homes.

The majority of the 99m turbine towers are to be manufactured by GRI, in Atlantis, in the Western Cape. Civil and electrical works are to be completed by a consortium comprised of Murray and Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects.

The Khobab wind farm is part of the South African Government’s Round 3 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) is expected to be operational by December 2017.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has announced the completion of all 61 wind turbine installations as well as having achieved over 1,25 million hours without a single lost-time-incident, on the 1 March 2017.  “This is a hugely significant health and safety construction milestone for one of the country’s largest wind farms, so considering the sheer scale of the project, the multiple level of activities and the complexities involved, it is an impressive achievement,” said Christo Loots, Project Manager of Loeriesfontein Wind Farm.

The wind farm completed the lifting of all its wind turbine generators ahead of expectation which is attributed to the dedicated turbine installation crew who began the lifting process during August 2016. The installation crew worked many late nights and early mornings to take advantage of the periods of low wind to install all the turbines in six months and ahead of schedule.

Approximately 70% of the workforce come from the Loeriesfontein community and have directly benefitted from the skills development programmes.  This work experience will no doubt benefit Khobab Wind Farm, the adjacent wind farm, which will commence with its first turbine lifting early next month.

The Siemens wind turbines, which are 100m tall to allow for optimum energy production, take between one and three days to construct, assuming the weather is favourable.  The three 53m blades, made from fibreglass reinforced epoxy, are connected to the rotor at ground level before being lifted to the top of the turbine.  This is a complicated lifting exercise, in which one crane raises the assembled rotor whilst another smaller crane and taglines guide the rotor into the correct position.

The wind turbine’s tip reaches an impressive 154m into the sky when one of the blades stands vertically. The heaviest component is the nacelle, which contains the generator and gearbox; and weighs 82.5 tonnes.

For more information on the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm, visit www.loeriesfonteinwind.co.za.

Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) and Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) announce Decision of arbitral tribunal

LCCC and NnG submitted a dispute relating to the termination of NnG’s CFD to arbitration. The arbitral tribunal has made its decision in NnG’s favour under the dispute resolution procedure set out in the CFD.  The details of the dispute are, and will remain, confidential as both parties are bound by the confidentiality obligations both within the CFD and the rules of the arbitration.

Click here to read up-to-date information on the Neart na Gaoithe project.

Notes to Editor

• Low Carbon Contracts Company Limited (LCCC) is the counterparty responsible for managing Contracts for Difference (CFDs) awarded to generators under the government’s CFD scheme.
• The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change) announced the first allocation round of the CFD scheme in 2014. The generator, Neart Na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Limited (NnG), was awarded a CFD under that allocation round and entered into its CFD with LCCC on 26 March 2015.
• LCCC issued a termination notice in relation to NnG’s CFD on 29 March 2016.
• NnG initiated a dispute, as per the dispute resolution processes set out in the CFD, in relation to the termination notice issued.
• The dispute was decided by an arbitral tribunal in accordance with the processes for dispute resolution set out in the CFD.
• LCCC is currently managing CFDs for 31 renewable projects covering a range of technologies, including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, biomass and energy from waste.

Media contacts:

Mainstream Renewable Power
Emmet Curley, Head of Corporate Communications
Email: emmet.curley@mainstreamrp.com
Tel: +353 86 2411690

Low Carbon Contracts Company
Jennifer Snelson, Communications and External Relations Manager
Email: Jennifer.snelson@lowcarboncontracts.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 207 2118357