The Wesley–Ciskei Wind Power Station is a 34.5 megawatts

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

energy project in South Africa. The power station is owned by

EDF Renewables EDF Renewables (formerly ''EDF Renouvelables'') is a wholly owned subsidiary of the French utility EDF Group, specializing in renewable energy production. As an integrated operator, the Group develops and finances the construction of renewable e ...

, a subsidiary of the French energy conglomerate

Électricité de France Électricité de France SA (; ), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational corporation, multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France. Headquartered in Paris, with €139.7 billion in sales in 2023, EDF ope ...

(EDF). EDF won the concession for this project in June 2015, during the 4th round of the South African government's

Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP or REI4P) is an initiative by the Government of South Africa, South African government aimed at increasing electricity capacity through private sector investment i ...

of South Africa (REIPPP).

Location

The wind farm is located outside the settlement of Wesley, in Amathole District, in the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

of South Africa. Wesley is located approximately southwest of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, where the district headquarters are located. This is approximately northeast of the city of

Gqeberha Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipa ...

. The geographical coordinates of Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm are 33°18'09.0"S, 27°22'14.0"E (Latitude:-33.302500; Longitude:27.370556).

Overview

South Africa's ''Renewable Energy Supply Programme (REIPPP)'', is a public-procurement program of the South African government conceived in the 2000s and implemented in the 2010s and thereafter. It aims at attracting

independent power producer An independent power producer (IPP) or non-utility generator (NUG) is an entity that is not a public utility but owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users. NUGs may be privately held facilities, corporations ...

s (IPPs) to invest in renewable power generation in the country. As of April 2019, four rounds of bidding have resulted in the award of 102 power projects, with more expected in future. The target is 7,000 megawatts in renewable generation in the short term and 17,800 in the medium term. EDF won the bid to design, fund, build and operate this wind farm. The energy generated will be sold to

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...

, the South African electric utility company under a 20-year power purchase agreement. EDF assigned its subsidiary EDF Renewables RSA to carry out the development. The farm comprises ten turbines of the Vestas V126-3.45 variety, capable of generating 3.45 megawatts each.

Construction and timeline

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to

Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Un ...

, the international manufacturer of wind turbines headquartered in Denmark, with manufacturing plants in nearly 20 countries. Vestas supplied the equipment, installed the equipment on site, installed the ''"VestasOnline Business SCADA"'' system, which allows remote monitoring and some adjustment of each individual turbine. Construction began in September 2019 and commercial commissioning was expected in September 2021. The wind farm's operator EDF Renewables reported in August 2021 that the facility had been connected to the grid, commercial operations began later the same month.

References

External links

EDF connects 34.5 MW Wesley-Ciskei wind farm in South Africa to the grid
As of 28 July 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley-Ciskei Wind Power Station Economy of the Eastern Cape Power stations in South Africa Wind farms in South Africa Energy infrastructure in Africa 2021 establishments in South Africa Energy infrastructure completed in 2021 Amathole District Municipality 21st-century architecture in South Africa

Location

Overview

Construction and timeline

See also

References

External links