Kangnas Wind Farm, situated outside of Springbok, Northern Cape started construction in 2018. All 61 turbine installations at Kangnas Wind Farm have been completed two weeks ahead of schedule. Once operational, the wind farm will generate around 513 200 MWh/year of clean renewable energy.
The aim of this project is to provide 154 625 South African homes with enough clean, green electricity but this project will not only be beneficial in addressing the ongoing and increasing need for clean electricity in South Africa, but it will also positively impact the country’s economy and the people who live within a 50km radius of the wind farm.
Furthermore, the project is proud to confirm that the 45-member crew that took on this large-scale lifting programme, are mostly local South Africans from the Northern Cape Province.
“87% of the lifting team are South African, with just six being ex-pats. The team began the erection of the first of its 61 wind turbines in July last year and worked very hard to take advantage of the periods of low wind to install all the turbines, in just eight months and ahead of schedule,” said Manie Kotze, Construction Project Manager of Kangnas Wind Farm.
All the turbines have been successfully installed but the project will only be operational later this year. The next step in the process is the official handover of the two main power transformers. “Once the two power transformers are installed and energized, commissioning and testing will commence on the wind turbines, followed by GRID Code compliance testing,” says Kotze.
This renewable power plant will also help the country reduce its greenhouse carbon emissions, eliminating approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plants.
