The arrival of Perdekraal East Wind Farm’s main transformer marked a major milestone in the construction process. This 500MVA mega transformer was manufactured in South Africa, which has added to project’s already high local content percentage, as the turbine towers are also locally manufactured.
“We are pleased to confirm that our obligation for local content exceeds 48% of the total project value, making this a truly South African endeavour,” said Glenn Hobson, construction project manager at the wind farm in the Witzenberg District in the Western Cape..
The transformer will be housed in the substation that is situated outside of Ceres. Its job is to step up the voltage produced by the wind farm to 400kV, rendering it suitable for the national grid.
This is one of the country’s 12 wind farms currently under construction, which went into a sudden lockdown in March. Activity resumed on site, late May, having lost over 50 days of work.
“We hadn’t anticipated the full impact of the Covid-19 virus but our team is working hard under the less than ideal situation, considering the added HSE requirements and procedures that are now part of our daily construction protocols,” said Hobson.
Conco is responsible for the electrical component of the balance of plant works, including the engineering, procurement and construction, as well as the electrical works for Perdekraal East Wind Farm, which is preparing for grid connection by the end of July this year.