The 140MW Kangnas Wind Farm, a project owned by Lekela-led consortia, has celebrated the successful energisation of the site. As part of this, it involved first energising the Groeipunt Transformer, and the project’s own substation transformer.
The first transformer is housed at the Groeipunt Transmission substation and was procured as part of the self-build connection works that will be transferred to Eskom. The transformer receives generated power from the wind farm via a distribution network, where it is responsible to step the voltage up from 132kV to 220kV.
Both transformers were made in South Africa, and the demand for local manufacturers to provide components that were previously only available through import has steadily increased. This is in line with the Department of Energy’s local content requirements, which have progressively increased with each bid window.
The energisation of the site is an important step towards the wind farm becoming operational, with the project due to begin producing power later this year. Once complete, Kangnas Wind Farm will provide approximately 500 GWh each year of clean, economic and renewable energy to the national grid.
“We are grateful to the construction crew, who diligently worked to energise the substation and hence complete this key construction milestone, bringing us one step closer to our full operations,” explained Manie Kotzé, Construction Project Manager of Kangnas Wind Farm.
Kangnas Wind Farm, 46km outside of Springbok, in the Nama Khoi Local Municipality, commenced construction during June 2018. As with all the wind farms that were under construction at the time the country’s national COVID-19 lockdown commenced in March 2020, construction at this Northern Cape wind farm, was halted and picked up pace in May 2020.
Lekela has one other project in South Africa, the 110MW Perdekraal East Wind Farm, currently under construction and a further three already in operations.