The dynamism of the renewable energy sector in South Africa is benefiting Vestas. The Danish wind turbine manufacturer has just won a new contract in Nelson Mandela’s homeland. The Copenhagen-listed company will install 24 wind turbines at the Witberg wind farm near Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape province. As part of the contract, Vestas has also signed “a 15-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) agreement” with the project’s developer, independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket.
Witberg will be the largest wind farm to generate power for the private sector, as Red Rocket has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Sibanye-Stillwater, a South African mining company specializing in the extraction of gold and precious platinum group metals. Under the terms of the agreement, the electricity generated will power Sibanye-Stillwater’s facilities for 15 years, from the wind farm’s commissioning date scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.
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“Red Rocket recently affirmed its position as an independent power producer in South Africa by successfully completing the financing of the Witberg wind farm,” explains Matteo Brambilla, Red Rocket’s Chief Executive Officer. Construction of the Witberg wind farm will require an investment of 3.4 billion South African rand, or around $180.4 million.
This project contributes to the energy transition now underway in South Africa. Vestas is one of the key players in this development, since the group, which has sales of over 15 billion euros in 2021, has been involved in the construction of several wind farms in this southern African country. These include the 294 MW Karusa and Soetwater wind farms, scheduled for commissioning in 2022.
Jean Marie Takouleu