About half of the 237 turbine blades and other components required for the Koruson 1 cluster of wind farms, being built on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces, have been delivered to site.
The Koruson 1 cluster comprises the Phezukomoya, San Kraal and Coleskop wind farms and is being developed as part of Round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
Each blade on the turbines is 81.35 m long and weighs 28 t. The blades and components were delivered from the Coega port via the R75 and N10.
“We would like to thank the public for their patience and safe driving with regard to the abnormal loads that are carrying the components from the harbour to site. There are several other projects under construction in the area and we realise that traffic is being affected,” said EDF Renewables Koruson 1 project CEO Cedric Faye.
The Koruson 1 project's three sites are spread across 50 km2. There are 78 wind turbines that will be installed on concrete towers. These are now being assembled and erected across the three sites. The 124-m-high concrete towers each comprise 50 keystones, all manufactured locally at a concrete tower factory outside Middelburg in the Eastern Cape.
Each wind farm has a capacity of 140 MW, with a total installed capacity of 420 MW. This makes it the biggest wind farm ever built in Africa. The total investment in the project is R11-billion.
The project is being developed by EDF Renewables in partnership with H1 Holdings, GIBB-Crede and a local community trust.
In addition to the three wind farms, a main transmission station and three substations are under construction to transmit the power to Eskom's transmission grid. The construction works are all progressing rapidly towards commissioning and the commercial operations date is planned for first quarter of 2025, EDF Renewables said.
Abut 3 800 workers are currently on site. The project is creating significant employment, and local resources and businesses are being used wherever possible.
More than 40% of the project’s value comprises South African goods and services, and 1.25% of revenue generated by the projects over their contractual period will be applied to socioeconomic development initiatives for nearby local communities.