Construction on Grahamstown's first wind farm is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year, after the project was approved by the Department of Energy this week.
Construction on Grahamstown's first wind farm is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year, after the project was approved by the Department of Energy this week.
On Monday the Waainek wind farm tender was awarded to Port Elizabeth-based project developer and sponsor InnoWind and construction will begin on access roads and foundations early next year. It is scheduled for completion in early to mid-2014.
The Waainek project was bid as part of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme which aims to procure a targeted 3 725 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, of which 1 850MW (49.66%) is to come from onshore wind energy.
The remaining power will be generated from concentrated solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, biomass, landfill gas and small hydro projects. InnoWind was the only company to submit a project located in the Grahamstown area in the national procurement process. Waainek is one of seven wind projects selected in the second bidding window that closed on 5 March. Waainek’s eight turbines, that will be capable of producing 3MW of power each, will have a combined installed capacity of 24MW, which represents 1.3% of the national target for onshore wind energy.
Project manager of InnoWind, Kevin Minkoff, said the amount of power to be produced annually remains confidential. The turbines will have a total height of 140m (at blade tip), and will be imported from Denmark, with around 30% of them to be manufactured in SA. Labour for the construction of the wind farm will come from a mix of international, national and local labour – the latter making up the larger amount, according to Minkoff.
Once the turbines are up and running, the electricity they generate will first flow through Grahamstown via the nearby substation (due to be upgraded by InnoWind in the course of 2013) before possible excess spills into the national Eskom grid. Minkoff said the price at which InnoWind will resell the electricity to Eskom remains confidential, although a R1.15 per kilowatt-hour cap has been put in place by government during the tender process.
An environmental control officer will be appointed after the project has reached financial close in early December. The site of the project was initially identified by local eco-entrepreneur Garth Cambray during a microlight flight in 2006.
In 2009 InnoWind launched an Environmental Impact Assessment for 15 turbines, but due to local opposition the project was scaled down to eight. Before the project was downscaled it was estimated to cost R560 million, but is currently expected to cost closer to R400 million.
The Department of Environmental Affairs authorised the construction of the Waainek wind farm on 15 March 2011 after approving the Environmental Impact Assessment. Construction had been scheduled for January this year, but InnoWind missed the submission date for the tender in 2011, due to an appeal about its possible noise impact.
The Minister of Environment dismissed the appeal in March 2012, and InnoWind put in the bid to the Department of Energy. Other funders involved in the project are the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which is also funding the 26% share of the Makana Winds of Change Community Trust in the project.
The trust will only start to operate when the wind farm is up and running, as it will be funded by the dividends received from the sale of electricity, which will gradually increase as the loan is repaid. Other funders involved in the project are the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which will also fund the 26% share of the Makana Winds of Change Community Trust.
The trust will only start to operate once the wind farm is up and running, as it will be funded by the dividends received from the sale of electricity, which will gradually increase as the loan is repaid.
