Massive wind turbines are heading to NC

SEVENTY of the largest wind turbines ever to seen in Africa are heading for the Northern Cape.

After placing an order with one of the largest wind turbine companies, Vestas, Enel Green Power is bringing to Africa some of the largest wind turbines in the world - in the form of 70 V1364.2MW turbines to form part of the Karusa and Soetwater wind farms in the Northern Cape.

The Karusa Project, a 139.8MW wind power generation facility, and the Soetwater Project, a 139.4MW wind power generation facility, are both located in Sutherland in the Karoo Hoogland Municipality.

They form part of five wind farms that were all awarded in round 4 of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), namely Nxuba, Oyster Bay, Garob, Karusa and Soetwater, and have a capacity of around 140MW each.

The massive wind turbines are expected to be up and running by the second half of 2020. Each blade is 66.7 metres long and have a hub height of 82 metres, putting them into areas with more consistent wind.

From ground to tip, the turbines will reach a total height of 148.7 metres – taller than the high-rise Michelangelo building (140 metres) in Sandton, Johannesburg.

By comparison, one of the largest onland turbines in the world was made by German company Max Bogl Wind AG. Its hub height sits at 178m tall, and the tower’s total height – from ground to tip – is 246.5m. This is taller than the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg at 223 metres.