Lekela, the renewable power generation company that delivers utility-scale projects across Africa, recently announced that its 140 MW Kangnas wind farm in South Africa had successfully reached commercial operation. This marks the completion of all five wind farms that constitute the first portfolio of wind farms delivered by a Lekela-led consortium in South Africa. Together, these offer a total capacity of over 600 MW and will provide clean, cost-effective power for up to 485 000 South African homes (or equivalent offtake) over the next 20 years.
Marking a significant milestone, Lekela recently saw the Kangnas wind farm, its fifth wind farm in South Africa, begin commercial operation.
The Kangnas wind farm is situated just over 50 km east of the town of Springbok in the Nama Khoi Local Municipality of the Northern Cape. Construction on the project began in 2018 and has been achieved with 50% of construction content manufactured in South Africa, including the site’s two transformers. Kangnas wind farm also committed to drive local job creation, providing over 550 jobs at the height of the project’s construction. Additionally, long-term operations and maintenance jobs will be supported through the life cycle of the wind farm with the 61 Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines generating electricity for the next 20 years.
Kangnas follows the 110 MW Perdekraal East wind farm which started operating in October. Perdekraal East was the first wind farm from Round 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme to do so, with Kangnas now following it. Lekela’s first wind farm in South Africa, Noupoort, was likewise the first project in Round 3 of the REIPPP Programme to reach commercial operation, in 2016.
Chris Antonopoulos, Chief Executive Officer at Lekela said, “Just five years after Lekela was created, this is a significant milestone for us all. Kangnas completes what only existed as ideas on a piece of paper just a few years ago. We now have over 600 MW of wind power in operation, which will supply clean electricity to hundreds of thousands of South Africans, at an affordable price for the next two decades. Our completed portfolio positions Lekela firmly as one of the leading providers of clean, renewable energy in the country, and on the African continent more broadly.
“Kangnas’ success in supporting local manufacturing and jobs is an indicator of how low-carbon technologies can drive renewed economic growth in the wake of Covid-19. No other source of energy has the pace of development, nor the backing of governments, communities and companies that wind and solar do. We have to capitalise on this focus to ensure the number of Africans with access to electricity continues to rise through the next decade and beyond.”
Despite the challenges presented by coronavirus, Lekela’s overarching priority has been to support the health and safety of all employees, contractors and partners while continuing to provide clean, reliable power.
At the same time, Lekela and its companies have pivoted its community investment programmes in South Africa to help local communities in their response to the pandemic. Initiatives include supporting local enterprises during the pandemic, providing personal protective equipment, as well as food parcels for local families and hand-sanitiser for local communities.
In its wider portfolio of pan-African projects, the company has also recently been awarded a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to fund a feasibility study in partnership with Senelec for Senegal’s first grid-scale battery storage system. The study will focus on how to provide increased grid stability and integrate intermittent renewable energy into Senelec’s electricity grid. The battery will be located at Lekela’s 158.7 MW Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN) project, which is itself the first utility-scale wind farm in Senegal.
For more information: https://lekela.com/