Italy’s Enel,
through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power RSA (EGP
RSA), has started construction of its
140 MW Nxuba wind farm in the Amatole district,
making it the group’s third wind project in
the Eastern Cape province.
Construction of Nxuba,
expected to be completed by September 2020, will involve an overall investment
of over €200-million.
“Through the start of construction of the
Nxuba wind farm, which is the first of five projects awarded to the
company in South Africa’s 2015
renewable tender to begin construction, Enel confirms
its commitment to grow and strengthen its presence in the country,” EGP
head Antonio Cammisecra said in a
statement on Tuesday.
Once fully up and running, Nxuba is expected to
generate over 460 GWh/y, avoiding the emission of around 500 000 t/y of carbon
dioxide (CO2).
The wind farm will be supported by a 20-year power supply
agreement with Eskom, as part of the fourth bid
window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer
Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
EGP RSA will employ innovative tools and practices
to build Nxuba such as advanced digital platforms and software solutions to
monitor and remotely support site activities and plant commissioning, digital
tools to perform quality controls on site and smart tracking of wind
turbine components.
In addition, the company has committed to ensure
socioeconomic and enterprise development, preferential procurement, and job
creation in the surrounding communities, involving local businesses as
suppliers, providing free WiFi to communities in the area and holding wind technology training courses for
locals.
EGP RSA also focused on education by
supplying schools with clean energy through mini-photovoltaic systems, awarding
scholarships to students and supporting a school feeding programme.
The other projects awarded
to EGP RSA in Round 4 of the REIPPPP tender are the 140 MW Oyster Bay wind
farm, also in the Eastern Cape, as well as
the 140 MW Garob, the 140 MW Karusa and the 140 MW Soetwater wind plants, all
in the Northern Cape province.
