- Red Cap Energy, a renewable energy sector player, will commence the construction of Impofu wind farms.
- The project’s success owes much to close collaboration with landowners, who played a crucial role in determining turbine placement.
Red Cap Energy, South Africa’s renewable energy sector player, will commence construction of Impofu wind farms in Kouga, Eastern Cape, in March 2024.
The project represents the largest pure private renewable energy plant in the country’s history, spanning three 110-megawatt (MW) wind farms.
Jadon Schmidt, Business Development Manager at Red Cap Energy, said in a press release, “Since 2013, we have signed up 87 parcels of land for the power line and spent years negotiating with farmers to lease land to build wind turbines. The wind farm’s 57 turbines will extend across 12 pieces of land, with significant benefits for landowners and local agricultural output.”
He said that the project’s success owes much to close collaboration with landowners, who played a crucial role in determining turbine placement and ensuring minimal disruption to agricultural activities.
Vernon Basson, owner of Vergaderingskraal, one of the land parcels leased for the Impofu project, said, “The whole process has been pretty smooth. I had a good idea of where I didn’t want roadways to go to ensure I didn’t end up with unusable pieces of land. Besides that, I made suggestions about where it would and wouldn’t work to put up the turbines, for example, if an area was too wet or difficult to access.”
Once operational in 2025, the Impofu wind farms will supply 330 MW of renewable energy to Sasol South Africa’s Secunda site, benefiting from a groundbreaking 116-kilometre powerline – the longest privately permitted powerline for any renewable energy project in the country.
Furthermore, Xolile Peter Lamani, the Reebok Rant Worker’s Trust Chairperson, expresses optimism about the wind farm’s potential to boost local economies and agriculture. The additional income generated from leasing land for the turbines promises to support livelihoods and mitigate the impact of drought on farming communities.