109 wind turbines installed in Kangnas and Perdekraal wind farms with a combined capacity of 250MW; Both projects represent one of the first ‘Bid Window 4’ wind farms to feed power to South Africa’s national grid; Siemens Gamesa (www.SiemensGamesa.com) has installed over 850MW of wind power in the country, close to one third of market share.
Siemens Gamesa has officially started production of Mainstream Renewable Power’s 110MW Perdekraal East and 140 MW Kangnas wind farms in South Africa, supporting additional green power supply into the country’s national grid.
The Perdekraal East site is located 80km northeast of Ceres in the Western Cape and the Kangnas wind farm is situated near Springbok in the Northern Cape. The wind farms are equipped with a total of 109 2.3MW capacity onshore wind turbines and will help provide enough clean electricity to power a total of 250,000 South African homes. Additionally, the wind farms will emit zero carbon emissions using almost no water during the power generation process.
Despite COVID-19 challenges, the two projects have been completed in line with the original timeline set by Mainstream Renewable Power. Mainstream fully developed the projects, managed the construction process and will manage the operations and maintenance of the plants. The global developer of renewable energy is based in Dublin with offices in Cape Town. Kangnas wind farm was even completed significantly ahead of schedule.
Part of the “Bid Window 4” of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), both Perdekraal and Kangnas wind farms will together add to the 1.3GW to the country’s clean energy generation capacity.
In compliance with the REIPPPP regulations, the wind projects were built by the 30% black owned subsidiary of Siemens Gamesa in South Africa and, by its South African staff utilizing South African contractors thereby creating jobs while supporting local communities, driving local manufacturing and development projects within local communities.
“Siemens Gamesa is taking a step forward in its mission to provide a cleaner, more sustainable future for South Africa in its journey to a low carbon economy, having contributed as of today with more than 850MW of wind capacity to the national grid. We are also proud to demonstrate our engagement towards improving living standards across the country, despite the disruption witnessed due to the Covid-19 lockdowns earlier this year,” said Janek Winand, Managing Director Siemens Gamesa South Africa.
Beyond the completion of its wind projects in the country, Siemens Gamesa remains committed to the local communities in need through several social actions led across the regions where it is operating. Among these initiatives, the company helped provide relief to Tembisa residents suffering from the impact of the COVID19 crisis through the donation of vital supplies benefitting over 300 families. The team also supported recently the Witzenberg Association for Persons with Disabilities (WAPD) near the Perdekraal wind farm through the donation of a mobile day care.
“As a responsible company, we are eager to assert further our contribution to South Africa’s increasing energy demand, but beyond that, we are strongly committed to provide continuous support through rapid responses to the challenges faced by the local communities in need, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Janek Winand.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Siemens Gamesa.
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About Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy:
Siemens Gamesa is a global leader in the wind power industry, with a strong presence in all facets of the business: offshore, onshore and services. The company’s advanced digital capabilities enable it to offer one of the broadest product portfolios in the sector as well as industry-leading service solutions, helping to make clean energy more affordable and reliable. With more than 107GW installed worldwide, Siemens Gamesa manufactures, installs and maintains wind turbines, both onshore and offshore. The company’s orders backlog stands at €30.2 billion. The company is headquartered in Spain and listed on the Spanish stock exchange (trading on the Ibex-35 index).
About Siemens Gamesa in Africa:
Siemens Gamesa (www.SiemensGamesa.com) has been pioneering wind energy projects in Africa for 20 years. Installations total 4GW in countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius Islands, Tunisia and Algeria representing 60% of all wind power on the continent. Siemens Gamesa is driving Africa’s energy transition to deliver cleaner, more reliable, more affordable energy for millions of African people and support long term sustainability and economic growth. It has the broadest product portfolio in the industry with leading technology and innovation, the scale and global reach to provide proximity to customers, and high standards of health, safety and environmental protection.
Source: Apo-Opa
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