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Danish firm Vestas to supply wind turbines

to South African IPP Red Rocket

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African independent power producer coal-fired, is in the grips of an energy crisis,
(IPP), Red Rocket, has ordered wind turbines largely because of frequent breakdowns of the
with the capacity to generate 373 MW from aged thermal facilities. President Cyril Rama-
Danish manufacturer Vestas for three projects it phosa’s government is promoting greater invest-
plans to build in the country. ment in renewable projects with the hope that
In a release on March 14, Vestas said the three their contribution will rise from 11% to about
properties – Brandvalley, Rietkloof and Wolf 41% by 2030.
wind parks – will be located in Western Cape The order, Vestas said, includes the first
and Eastern Cape in Africa’s most developed installations globally of the V163-4.5 MW
economy, which is promoting renewables amid wind turbine from Vestas’ 4-MW platform. President Cyril
a biting power shortage. Featuring an 18% increase in swept area, the
The contract includes the supply and instal- V163-4.5 MW has a large rotor-size-to-rating Ramaphosa’s
lation of 64 V150-4.5 MW wind turbines, 12 ratio, resulting in a higher capacity factor, ena-
V163-4.5 MW wind turbines and five V162-6.2 bling up to 10% higher annual energy produc- government is
MW Enventus wind turbines. Vestas will service tion at park level compared to the V150-4.5
the wind parks through a 15-year Active Output MW, depending on site-specific conditions. promoting greater
Management 5000 (AOM 5000) agreement. This increases power output at lower wind investment
Red Rocket’s chief executive officer, Matteo speeds significantly and improves predictabil-
Brambilla, expects the wind farms to start oper- ity and stability in production, optimising the in renewable
ating in 2024. utilisation of the wind park as well as benefit-
“Red Rocket has been investing and sup- ting the energy grid. projects.
porting South Africa’s electricity crisis for “With three different wind turbine variants
more than a decade and with a portfolio of across platforms this order showcases that we
more than 1,000 MW of wind, hydro and solar are able to enhance the customer business case
projects under development, in construction through optimising the layout on each wind pro-
or in operation in the country, we are delighted ject site with Vestas’ flexible and diverse product
to continue making a significant contribution portfolio. We firmly believe that our partnership
to South Africa and the rest of the continent,” can make a significant contribution to a more
he said. reliable, affordable and sustainable energy mix
South Africa, with an installed capac- in South Africa,” said Vestas’ sales and business
ity of just above 40,000 MW, 80% of which is development senior director, Malte Meyer.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 12 22•March•2023