Page 11 - Energize July 2022

NEWS

Karusa wind farm connects to national grid

Karusa wind farm in South Africa’s Western Cape province has achieved commercial operation, giving the
national grid access to an additional 147 MW of renewable energy.
As part of the Enel Green Power plan for Creating Shared Value (CSV) associated with the construction of the wind
farm, actions have been proposed to support the area’s employment opportunities and empower local enterprises.

nel Green Power South Africa (EGP RSA) has connected the could include support in the form of funding, income generating
147 MW Karusa wind farm to the national grid. Karusa is assets (equipment) and skills development and market linkages,
Elocated in a remote part of the Laingsburg Local Municipality amongst others.
in the Western Cape, and will generate more than 500 GWh Other socio-economic development projects focusing on
annually, potentially averting the emission of approximately 500 education, healthcare, social welfare and skills development will be
000 t of CO 2 into the atmosphere. implemented now that the project is operational.
Karusa uses Vestas V136-4,2 MW wind turbines, the largest on In addition, a community-needs assessment will be conducted
the African continent to date. to identify the most pressing community needs and pinpoint any
Awarded to Enel Green Power in 2016 as part of round four skills gaps within the beneficiary communities. The investment
of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer in these communities is estimated to be 800-thousand-euro per
Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the wind farm is supported by annum.
a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Eskom. Battisti says while the employees at Karusa worked under
With Karusa wind farm operational, EGP RSA now has six wind extraordinary circumstances, they concluded their work with zero
farms up and running, including Nojoli (88 MW), Oyster Bay lost-time incidents: “Completing the project despite challenging
(148 MW), Nxuba (148 MW), Gibson Bay (111 MW) and Garob circumstances is testimony to their hard work and resilience”, he
(145 MW). Its 147 MW Soetwater wind farm is expected to achieve concluded.
commercial operation during July 2022.
Collectively, the company has ten operational wind and solar Contact Enel Green Power South Africa, Phone 010 344-0200,
projects in South Africa. Once all current projects are in operation, egprsa.bd@enel.com, https://www.enelgreenpower.com/
the business will have an overall installed capacity of 1,2 GW. countries/africa/south-africa
Manuele Battisti, the company’s country manager, says
construction of the Karusa facility commenced in 2019 and
amounts to a €200-million investment in South Africa.
“The COVID-19 hard lockdown and accompanying restrictions
caused various delays and supply challenges for the project as well
as limiting international travel. Enel Green Power overcame these
strategic problems by using South African resources and harnessing
technological solutions that allowed for remote interaction with
colleagues in other countries,” he adds.
The company says it is committed to help South Africa solve
its energy crises through renewable energy solutions. It also
employs local staff and hires local contractors in the construction
process, with the aim of promoting meaningful socio-economic and
enterprise development. At the peak of the construction process of
Karusa and Soetwater, the business had 1160 employees on site.
As part of its Creating Shared Value initiative, EGP RSA has
assisted underserved communities near the wind farm. One
initiative involved the supply of 15 interactive smartboards and
15 laptops to the Acacia Primary School in Laingsburg as part
of an educational support programme. During the nationwide
lockdown, which began in March 2020, EGP donated food relief
parcels to approximately 200 families in vulnerable communities, in
collaboration with the Laingsburg Local Municipality.
EGP RSA is currently looking to empowering local SMMEs
through its Enterprise Development Support programme. This

energize | July 2022 | 9