Turbine installation at the Jeffreys Bay wind farm, one of the first and largest wind farms in South Africa, is complete and commercial operations are expected to begin this month.

All 60 turbines have been installed over an area of 3 700 hectares at the 138 MW wind farm which is already supplying electricity to Eskom. A 90-person crew has been installing the 2.3 MWturbines since August last year. Each wind turbine stands 80m tall with a rotor diameter of 101 metres. The average rotation of the blades is between 6 and 16 rpm. The project will generate 460 000 MW per year, supplying enough clean renewable electrical energy to power more than 110 000 average South African households.

The wind farm was one of the first projects to be developed under government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. It is one of the 47 contracted renewable-energy projects currently underway across the country.

Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm general manager Mark Pickering says the crew’s focus and commitment never wavered. “During this period [of construction], crew members took the opportunity to gain experience and benefit from skills transfer, which they will take with them to other wind farm projects.”