Key agreements for the first major project awarded / new subsidiary incorporated in Cape Town
Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has entered the South African market with a major contract. South African wind power producer, Dorper Wind Farm (RF) Pty Ltd, whose sponsors are South African based wind project developer Rainmaker Energy, through its subsidiary Dorper Wind Development (Pty) Ltd, and its Japanese partner Sumitomo Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, have selected Nordex as supplier for the delivery and turn-key installation of a 100 MW wind farm to be known as “Dorper”.
Dorper Wind Farm (RF) Pty Ltd entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Eskom Holdings SOC Limited, a state-owned utility company on the 5th November 2012. On the same day the company entered into a contract with the South African Department of Energy (DOE), under which the payment obligations of Eskom under the PPA are guaranteed by the DOE. The financing agreements for the project with different international and South African banks as well as Euler Hermes, one of the leading export credit agencies, have been agreed.
Nordex will be commencing the construction work in the current month, followed by the installation of the 40 N100/2500 turbines from the third quarter of 2013 onwards. The order also includes a service contract for an initial period of ten years.
“Dorper” is located north-west of Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape, on a channeled plateau characterised by good wind speeds. In the construction of the wind farm, the parties will be paying particular attention to maximising local manufacturing content and employment. Accordingly, Nordex will also be utilising the services of local partners and setting up a permanent local service station. In addition, it has recently established a subsidiary based in Cape Town.
The “Dorper” wind farm is one of the first renewable energy projects which the Department of Energy of South Africa selected in December 2011 and awarded a 20-year power purchase agreement. Further tendering processes are to be held in 2013 in order to provide clean and sustainable electricity supplies in the growth region of South Africa.
“I am convinced that our South African company will make a key contribution to modernising the region’s power station base. Such decentralised projects are important as they generate local employment outside urban areas,” says Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, a member of Nordex SE’s Management Board. In addition to the “Dorper” reference project, Nordex qualified as a preferred supplier for a further major project in South Africa in December 2011.