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, the Koruson 1 project was awarded under Round 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) in 2021. The consortium has entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the public grid operator.

The consortium also built the largest privately constructed Main Transmission Substation in South Africa (MTS), designed to connect up to 1.5 GW of renewable energy to the national grid, including Koruson 1 and Koruson 2 (a separate 520MW 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 1600m) and covering more than 500km². Over 110km of access roads had to be built on hilly and rocky terrain for the construction, operations and maintenance of the project, and the components for the 78 turbines and the Main Transmission station (MTS), had to be transported over 400km from the Coega harbour to the site. The project team would like to thank 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 rare 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 124m high concrete towers each constitute 50 keystones, which required the manufacture of a total of 3900 components.

Approximately 40% of the project value comprises local content. The labour-intensive project required more than 4600 workers to be on site simultaneously at the peak of construction. During operations, 1.2% of revenue generated by the projects 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 electricity needs of 579 000 South African households per annum, and abating 1,8 Mton of CO2 equivalent per annum. Koruson 1 is the first project in our portfolio of 1.5GW of projects under construction, to reach completion. We are especially proud of the fact that this project has been achieved with an excellent safety record.”

“The Koruson 1 consortium, demonstrates the power of partnership in driving South Africa’s energy transition. This project not only delivers clean, reliable power to the grid, but also creates meaningful 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,” said Reyburn Hendricks, CEO of H1 Holdings.

“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. The project 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 terms socio and economic development initiatives to support the environment and our surrounding communities” said Richard Vries, Chairman of Gibb-Crede.