Enel is investing more than €200m (£179.7m) to build the wind farm, which is the third renewable project for it in South Africa since the beginning of this year
Image: Enel’s Garob wind farm will be operational in 2021. Photo: Courtesy of Pexels/Pixabay.
Italian energy company Enel’s subsidiary Enel Green Power has started construction on the 140MW Garob wind farm located near the town of Copperton in South Africa.
Enel is investing more than €200m (£179.7m) to build the wind farm, which is the third renewable project for the company in South Africa since the beginning of this year.
The other projects include Nxuba and Oyster Bay wind farms, with 140MW capacity each, for a total capacity of 420MW under construction in the country.
When fully operational in the first half of 2021, the 46-turbine Garob wind farm will generate about 573GWh of clean electricity, while avoiding nearly 600,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Enel won the project during the fourth bidding window under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in South Africa.
Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “With the start of construction of Garob, we have reached yet another important milestone in South Africa just weeks after breaking ground at the Oyster Bay wind project.
“Alongside boosting renewables growth in South Africa, we are focusing our sustainability activities on scientific education, which significantly contributes to the skills needed for power industry professionals, with a view to support local expertise.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to break ground on the projects we were awarded in South Africa and to launch shared value initiatives for local communities, while scouting for further sustainable growth opportunities in the country’s renewable industry.”
Enel won the tender to build five projects in South Africa, with a capacity of about 700MW
In the fourth round of REIPPPP, Enel had won a total of five wind projects with a capacity of around 700MW. Other projects awarded to the company include the 140 MW Karusa and the 140 MW Soetwater wind plants, also to be located in the Northern Cape Province.
In May, the company had begun construction of the 140MW Oyster Bay wind farm Kouga Local Municipality, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, with an investment of €180m (£161.7m).
Once operational, the wind farm will generate about 568GWh of clean energy annually, while avoiding 590,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This wind farm is supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with the South African energy utility Eskom, under the REIPPPP tender.