Wind turbine tower sections for the 140 MW Kangnas Wind Farm, one of the Round 4 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) projects, are being manufactured locally at the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in the Western Cape.

The Kangnas Wind Farm said in a statement this month that this signalled the recovery of the SEZ that had been set up for green technologies, which, according to Green Cape, had already attracted R680-million in green technology investments and had created over 300 jobs.

It is expected that the SEZ will attract a further R3.7-billion in investment from renewable energy and other manufacturers, and nearly 3 000 jobs are expected to be created by 2030 if these investments are realised.

Manufacturing industries, in particular, stand to benefit from wind farms that are currently being built in South Africa.

Two of these large power generating plants will be receiving their turbine tower sections from GRI, a Spanish wind tower manufacturer, which has invested R475-million to date, and was one of the first to see the benefits of establishing a factory at the Atlantis SEZ.

Even prior to the designation of the SEZ, GRI had made the most of the City of Cape Town’s available infrastructure and rapid land release and approvals processes to secure its chosen ground.

GRI weathered the storm related to REIPPPP delays and was able to ramp up to full operation again, after confirming contracts in the fourth bid window, which included the Kangnas Wind Farm and the Perdekraal East Wind Farm.

“GRI’s South African wind tower company is 25%-owned by local shareholders, while its 250 or so employees have benefited from skills transfer, some [receiving] training and experience in Spain and the US, and bringing their skills back to the community,” explained GreenCape SEZ project executive Francis Jackson.

The Atlantis Green Technology SEZ was a deliberate effort to create manufacturing targeting the green economy broadly and with specific opportunities in renewables.

“The Kangnas Wind Farm is the first REIPPPP project to receive towers manufactured by GRI, following the industry’s two-year impasse, with the manufacturer’s full capacity dedicated to these projects,” explained Kangnas Wind Farm construction project manager Manie Kotze.

The Kangnas Wind Farm is located in the Nama Khoi municipal area, in the Northern Cape. This province received the bulk of the investment by independent power producers for projects from the latest bid window, green-lighted almost a year ago.