juwi a preferred bidder for Garob wind farm

The Garob wind farm is located near to the old mining town of Copperton in the Northern Cape, approximately 35km south of Prieska.

According to juwi MD, Greg Austin, the 5,500ha Garob site will accommodate 46 wind turbines, which will stand 162m from the ground to the tips of the blade, with an overall maximum export capacity of 140MW. "A wind farm of this magnitude has the capacity to generate clean energy for 60,000 homes," says Austin.

The wind farm, situated on Nelspoortjie Farm, gets its name from the original San people who lived in the area centuries ago. The Northern Cape is becoming the renewable energy capital of Southern Africa as it has the highest density of solar and wind energy farms in the country.

Fleet of projects

"We are very pleased to add this high-capacity wind farm to our fleet of renewable energy projects in Southern Africa," says Austin. "The Garob project follows hot on the heels of our current 86MWp solar construction outside Prieska in the Northern Cape, which we will complete in 2016."

juwi first approached the Garob landowners in June 2011 to negotiate and secure development rights. A met mast was installed the same year to record the meteorological conditions necessary for accurate development. The remainder of pre-bid development took place over the period 2012-2014.

For Round 4 of REIPPPP, juwi approached Enel Green Power (EGP), an Italian utility company, and a deal was negotiated whereby EGP would take ownership of the project when the project was awarded preferred bidder. The project was submitted on 18 August 2014 in the fourth round of REIPPPP with EGP taking 60% of the equity, Khana 30% and the Garob local community trust 10%.

Financial close is expected in the first quarter of 2016 and construction is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2016. The commissioning phase will start in the first quarter of 2018 and commercial operation date is expected in the second quarter of 2018.