First bulk delivery of wind farm turbines arrives at Port of Ngqura

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Excitement greeted the arrival on Friday of the first bulk delivery of wind turbines for Africa's largest wind farm project at Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape.

Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Benson Fihla, joined dignitaries from Transnet, Cookhouse Wind Farm and international supplier Suzlon, for the arrival of the vessel Anthea carrying turbines and other components for the project.

The CEO of Cookhouse Wind Farm, Dr Jannie Retief, says communities surrounding the wind farm spanning 8km, will hold a 25% stake in the more than R2b project.

He said the site preparation began in February already.

"These turbines will first be held here for a while to inspect and to service them as they have been on the sea for a while. It will then go out to the sight and by July we will have the first turbines being erected and we plan to start producing electricity in May 2014. The total project from start to end is about 18 months " Retief said.

The National Port Authority says with the commencement of the construction of of the Eastern Cape wind farms last year, its estimated that 213 complete wind turbines will be shipped through the Port of Ngqura in three phases in 2013.

The NPA says this totals approximately 2000 pieces of grossly abnormal cargo which will require discharging, storage and removal from the port.

Ngqura port manager, Mpumi Dweba, says to meet the demand for the efficient handling of this extra ordinary commodity, they will be using he Multi-Purpose Terminal Berth C-100 for operations.

"It is an honour for Transnet National Ports Authority to be part of such a strategic project; specifically in meeting the Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan 2010-2030 goals, which anticipates the introduction of 41 346 MW of new generation across various technologies and geographies over the coming 20 years" said Dweba.

"The Port of Ngqura is particularly geared up for the handling of these abnormal commodities due to the availability of its world-class infrastructure, depth and its marine assets."

"We are very excited about the benefits this project creates and not only for the country but for Nelson Mandela Bay in particular in terms of job creation opportunities. Furthermore, we are also looking forward to working closely with the Coega Development Corporation in ensuring the efficient running of this project", added Dweba.