EDF power solutions has announced the commissioning of the 420 MW Koruson 1 cluster. The project includes three wind farms – San Kraal, Phezukomoya, and Coleskop – located between Noupoort and Middelburg, on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape in South Africa.
The 420 MW Koruson 1 cluster of three wind farms on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape has reached full commercial operation.
The Koruson 1 project was developed by a consortium led by EDF power solutions, together with South African Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partners H1 Holdings, Gibb-Crede, and a local community trust. It was awarded under Round 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in 2021 and the consortium has entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the public grid operator.
Construction of the largest privately built Main Transmission Substation (MTS) in South Africa also formed part of the project. The MTS is designed to connect up to 1.5 GW of renewable energy to the national grid, including Koruson 1 and Koruson 2 – a separate 520 MW wind farm currently being developed by EDF power solutions with its energy trader partner Envusa Energy – and other future projects.
The construction phase of the project proved challenging as Koruson 1 is situated in an isolated area, at a high altitude (over 1 600m) and covering more than 500 km². Over 110 km of access roads had to be built on hilly and rocky terrain for construction to proceed and for the future operations and maintenance of the project. During construction, the components for the 78 turbines and the Main Transmission Substation had to be transported over 400 km from the Coega harbour to the site. The project team notes, with gratitude, the public road users for their patience, and traffic law enforcement for their excellent assistance during the transportation period.
The 78 wind turbines installed on the three sites have a nominal capacity of 5.6 MW each. EDF power solutions chose to use an innovative turbine system that combines Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) technology with a full‑power‑conversion synchronous generator. This provides a particular combination of high efficiency, reliability, unmatched grid‑support capability, and excellent performance in South Africa’s challenging grid environment.
The concrete towers installed for the turbines offered the best project economics and met economic development and local content criteria as required by government. They were manufactured at a local factory near Middelburg, which employed 400 workers during the construction period. The 124 m high concrete towers are each built with 50 keystones, which required the manufacture of a total of 3 900 components.
Local content constitutes around 40% of the project value. The labour-intensive project required more than 4 600 workers to be on site simultaneously at the peak of construction. During operations, 1.2% of revenue generated by the project will be applied to socio-economic development initiatives for nearby communities.
Tristan de Drouas, EDF power solutions Southern Africa Vice President commented: “We are thrilled to achieve full commercial operation on Koruson 1. The project contributes significantly to meeting South Africa’s electricity requirements, supplying the equivalent of the electricity needs of 579 000 South African households per year, and abating 1.8 Mega-tonnes on of CO2 equivalent per year. Koruson 1 is the first project to reach completion, in our portfolio of 1.5 GW of projects under construction. We are especially proud that this project has been achieved with an excellent safety record."
Reyburn Hendricks, CEO of H1 Holdings, said: “The Koruson 1 consortium demonstrates the power of partnership in driving South Africa’s energy transition. This project delivers clean, reliable power to the grid, and creates opportunities for local communities and businesses. We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of renewable energy development are shared widely, supporting economic growth and empowerment in the regions where we operate.”
“The successful completion of Koruson 1 is a testament to the dedication and expertise of all the partners involved. Beyond the contribution of the Koruson 1 cluster of projects to South Africa’s economic recovery plan and climate change goals, we are particularly proud of the project’s contribution to local content and job creation. It had a significant impact on the surrounding communities during the construction stage. Our involvement will continue beyond construction as we are also implementing high-impact long-term social and economic development initiatives to support the environment and the surrounding communities,” said Richard Vries, Chairman of Gibb-Crede.
For more information visit: www.edf-powersolutions.com
