Nordex South Africa: "Amakhala Emoyeni"on the grid

The Nordex Group has successfully connected its largest wind farm in South Africa to date, to the grid. Installation was completed in June before the wind farm passed necessary grid connection tests in mid-July. Now the customer, Cennergi, a joint venture comprised of Exxaro and Tata Power, has officially commissioned the turbines.

The wind farm is situated in the Eastern Cape Province between Bedford and Cookhouse, and consists of 56 N117/2400 turbines. As part of the turnkey installation, in addition to delivering and setting up the turbines, the Nordex Group was also responsible for laying the foundations and cables for the wind farm. The manufacturer will now take charge of servicing the turbines for a period of a minimum of ten years. With 134.4 MW, "Amakhala Emoyeni" is the largest project with Nordex turbines in South Africa.

In 2012, the Nordex Group entered this young growth market on the Cape with 40 N100/2500 turbines for the 100 MW "Dorper" wind farm, and since then, has successfully implemented several other projects. The addition of Acciona Windpower's turbines to the group’s product portfolio has further improved the chances for the Nordex Group in South Africa. The concrete towers, which are inexpensive and can be manufactured locally, offer an especially interesting solution for the country’s market.