German-based Nordex Group was awarded the contract for installation of 47 turbines to generate 147MW of electricity at the Roggeveld wind farm, after South Africa’s public-sector utility Eskom signed outstanding power purchase agreements. Building Energy, the customer and owner of the windfarm, applied for the feed-in license in 2015 during the fourth round of tenders in South Africa, according to a Nordex press release. South African Energy Minister Jeff Radebe accepted the license in early April.
“Local installation work near Laingsburg will be commencing in 2019, creating a good 700 jobs in the construction and operation of the wind farm. Through a broad based approach this job creation will benefit local communities empowering young South Africans to build their future in clean energy. Moreover, the farm will improve the country’s carbon footprint as it will reduce around 24,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the production of electricity each year,” states Nordex in the release.
The power purchase agreement was just one of 27 agreements finally signed by the South African government. The scandal-embroiled Eskom had delayed the contracts repeatedly, claiming the contracts were no longer in the interest of the company. The agreements were signed after a court ruled that Eskom’s complaint was not valid, and Radebe also said there was no reason the contracts should not be signed.
