Van Stadens wind turbines set for Eskom grid hook-up

SA to enter clean green energy era.

CLEAN green electricity will become a reality later this week when South Africa’s first utility-scale, privately owned wind farm connects to the electricity grid.

All eyes will be on the nine Metrowind turbines at Van Stadens near Port Elizabeth as the developers test the R500-million state-of-the-art renewable energy equipment in the build-up to the official connection of the 27MW facility to the Eskom grid in just over two months’ time.

Afri-Coast Engineers director Donald McGillivray – whose company has spent 10 years pioneering renewable wind energy in South Africa – said after a year of construction on the outskirts of Blue Horizon Bay, they were now counting the days until they started supplying much-needed power to the Nelson Mandela Metro from February next year.

“It is exciting to see everything coming together so quickly,” he said.

McGillivray said the hot commissioning of the project – which will start one turbine at a time – was critical to ensuring the success of the project.

Erected using the biggest crane on the African continent, the Van Stadens project has, however, not all been a breeze for the developers after a handful of local residents complained about the towering wind turbines on a hill above the seaside village.

The objections from a few wealthy homeowners have come despite the development obtaining all environmental approvals and permits required and guaranteeing impoverished local township residents a substantial portion of the project equity and revenue over the next 20 years.

Several costly legal challenges have fallen flat.

“The fourth-generation wind turbines are quieter than older wind turbines and all wind farms have to comply with strict environmental authorisation requirements, which include noise emissions,” said McGillivray.

“The wind farm will improve both the quality and reliability of the electricity supply to Blue Horizon Bay and surrounding areas.” –