news - South African Khobab and Loeriesfontein wind farms begin powering 240 000 homes

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and Khobab Wind Farm have announced the commencement of their 20-year commercial operations, a milestone they have achieved on schedule, on budget and without a single lost-time incident. With a generation capacity of 140 megawatts each, these two neighbouring wind farms combined make up the largest single expanse of wind turbines in the country.

Situated in the Northern Cape, which has the highest volume of renewable energy utility power plants in the country, these sister wind farms comprise a total of 122 wind turbine generators, spanning 6 653 hectares.

FMO has invested in both wind farms through the Lereko Metier REIPPP Fund Trust (LMRF). LMRF is a joint holding vehicle with DEG and Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital Fund. LMRF was mandated to invest into the South African REIPPP program alongside Leroko Metier Sustainable Capital Fund. The fund is currently committed to Wind project Noupoort, Loeriesfontein, Khobab and Solar CSP project Kathu.

According the Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms Sylvia Lucas, “REIPPPP is a priority programme for the Province and proves to be a game changer. This is a sector that can assist Government to radically transform the economy. To date, over 60% of South Africa’s Independent Power Producers have been allocated to the Northern Cape.  We also take pride in the fact, that as a Province we not only play host to solar farms but currently we are home to the second highest number of wind farms in the Country. Through this we are able to attract local and foreign investment to, not only the Province, but the country at large. The attraction of these investments places us at the forefront of the Renewable Energy Industry."

She continued saying, “Worth noting is the fact that through these investments, the Province has secured a substantial share of the equity for local communities with benefits materialising over the project life. We are therefore pleased for the jobs that have been created and would like to encourage a process where the development and the needs of our people are handled as a parallel process. We are convinced that by working together, we are able to make a further impact on the job creation front.”

Collectively the wind farms will power circa 240 000 South African households, positively impacting the country’s economy and its people. “This is a key milestone for Lekela and its partners. We are pleased to have added over a million megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy each year to the country’s national grid; avoiding an estimated twenty-two million tonnes of carbon emissions over the lifespan of the projects, when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants,” said Chis Antonopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of Lekela.

He added, “Following a visit to these projects from Ghanaian energy experts to promote knowledge sharing on renewable power, we look forward to exploring further synergies, as we continue on our journey to deliver sustainable, reliable and competitively priced energy across Africa”.

Furthermore, these two wind farms achieved over 2 million man hours of construction activity without a single lost-time-incident during their construction period.  “Considering the sheer scale of these power projects, the multiple level of activities and the complexities involved in building these very large wind farms, it is an impressive achievement for our construction team,” Kevin Foster, Country Construction Manager for Mainstream Renewable Power.

“Given the milestone development at the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and Khobab Wind Farm, we wish to congratulate you on this achievement and express our sincere gratitude for the investment and visible change that you have made and continue to make in the lives of our communities. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to the management of these two wind farms for honouring your corporate social responsibility and contributing to the wellbeing of the surrounding communities. By doing so you are not only ensuring business success but making sure that you develop viable communities with a better quality life and for that we are grateful,” concluded Premier Lucas.

Fact File:

• The two wind farms were developed by Mainstream Renewable Power which also managed the construction process and will oversee the operations and maintenance of the plants.
• Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and Khobab Wind Farm have a combined value of approximately ZAR7Billion and are owned by a consortium led by Lekela Power, which is dedicated to providing clean, renewable energy to the people of South Africa. 
• Lekela is a renewable power generation company which delivers utility-scale projects that supply much-needed clean energy to communities across Africa. Lekela develops, ownes and operates wind and solar assets, drawing on its extensive experience and that of  its founder shareholders to deliver competitively-priced power. As well as projects in South Africa  its current portfolio includes more than 1,300 megawatts across projects in Egypt, Ghana and Senegal.
• Other shareholders include: Thebe Investment Corporation; The IDEAS Managed Fund; Futuregrowth Asset Management; Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital; Khobab Community Trusts; and Loeriesfontein Community Trusts. The Trusts will carrying out public benefit activities to assist the local community through economic development.
• The majority of the 99m turbine towers were locally manufactured at the Gestamp Wind Turbine Tower Factory in the Western Cape; the wind turbine generators were supplied by Siemens Wind Power; and civil and electrical works were completed by a consortium comprised of Murray and Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects 

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm Construction Milestones:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started, 1 September 2015
• First turbine lifting completed 11 August 2016
• All 61 turbine foundations were completed, 11 September 2016
• All 61 wind turbines erected by 28 February 2017
• Energisation of the Helios substation on 28 September2017
• Collector circuits energised on 22 July 2017
• Turbine commissioning commenced 24 July 2017
• COD achieved on 8 December 2017

Khobab Wind Farm Construction Milestones:

• Construction of the wind turbine generator foundations started 9 Feb 2016
• All 61 turbine foundations were completed 11 December 2016
• First turbine lifting completed 27 March 2017
• All 61 wind turbines erected by 8 September 2017
• Energized Substation with mobile transformer 23 August 2017
• First turbines energized on 23 August 2017
• Energization of  Helios Substation 28 September 2017
• COD achieved on 8 December 2017