An Acciona Energia-led consortium has started operating a 138-megawatt wind power project in South Africa.
The Gouda wind farm is located in the municipality of Drakenstein in Western Cape, around 100 kilometers north-west of Cape Town. Acciona holds a 51% stake in the project, with the rest held by South African infrastructure firm Aveng with 29%, and Soul City Broad-Based Empowerment Company and a community development entity, both with a 10% stake.
It will produce an average of 423 gigawatt-hours a year to meet the demand for electricity from around 200,000 South African households, avoiding the emission of 406 million metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere from coal-fired power.
The project consists of 46 sets of 3-MW turbines developed by Acciona itself. The wind farm was approved by the Department of Energy in the second round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program , set up to increase the role of renewable energies in the national energy mix.
Acciona’s 74-MW Sishen photovoltaic plant in the country started operating last year.
