African renewables developer Lekela has started commercial operations at the 110MW Perdekraal East wind farm in South Africa.
The project features 48 Siemens Gamesa 2.3-108 turbines and will provide approximately 360 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year.
It is the first wind farm from Round 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme to come online, Lekela said.
Construction of Perdekraal East, which is situated within the Witzenberg municipality in the Western Cape, started in 2018.
Lekela chief executive Chris Antonopoulos said: “This is our fourth wind farm in South Africa in four years, with a fifth to follow shortly.
“This milestone cements Lekela as one of the leading providers of clean, renewable energy in the country.
“No other source of energy continues to develop as rapidly as renewables in terms of cost and scale, and it’s exciting to see that the Perdekraal East wind farm is now delivering power to South Africa’s grid.
“What’s more, the fact it has taken place despite the challenges posed by the pandemic serves to show the importance of our work in delivering clean, reliable power to African communities.”
Lekela has also recently been awarded a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to fund a feasibility study in partnership with Senelec for Senegal’s first grid-scale battery electric storage system.