A consortium led by ACCIONA Energy has energized the 138 MW Gouda wind farm, located in Drakenstein, around 100 kilometers northwest of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Gouda wind farm is powered by 46 ACCIONA AW100/3000 wind turbines mounted on 100-meter concrete towers. The Gouda wind farm will produce an average of 423 GWh per year to cover the demand for electricity for nearly 200,000 South African households.
The consortium includes ACCIONA (which provided 51% of the capital) and the South African infrastructure firm Aveng. Other partners are Soul City Broad-Based Empowerment Company and a community development entity with a 10% stake.
The project for the Gouda wind farm was approved by the Department of Energy in the second round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP), enacted to increase the role of renewable energies in South Africa's energy mix.
ACCIONA plans to bid in the next rounds of the REIPPPP to intensify the company activity and carry out other renewable projects in South Africa. Its subsidiary, ACCIONA Windpower, is presently negotiating the supply of turbines to some of the firms that have been awarded wind power capacity in the country.
