Ongoing projects in Africa

Additional funding is being provided by the African Development Bank, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the Clean Technology Fund, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank.

Enel Green Power is in the process of developing six renewable energy projects in South Africa, all of which are scheduled to come on stream by 2016. They include four PV projects, Aurora, Paleisheweul, Pulida and Tom Burke, which will have combined generating capacity of 199 MW and which will require total investment of €630m.

The company’s head of business development Antonio Cammisecra said: “Due to the significant increase of electricity demand, the country is politically and economically engaged in diversifying its energy mix, focusing in particular on renewable energy. We are also studying the possibility of taking part in new public tenders with solar and wind power projects. We also consider it useful to continue our growth in other African countries and to look into further development opportunities.”

One of the biggest signs of confidence in South Africa’s renewables strategy is Corporación Gestamp’s decision to set up a wind tower manufacturing plant at Atlantis in the Western Cape at a cost of €22m.

The factory, which will have production capacity of 150 towers a year, will employ more than 200 people and is expected to produce its first tower by June this year.

It will be operated by Corporación Gestamp subsidiary GRI-Renewable Industries. GRI chief executive, Javier Imaz, commented: “With this new facility, GRI consolidates its position in the South African market, factor that will enable the business to deploy and share its know-how to the local market”. The Spanish firm will also operate wind farms in the country and has already been awarded a contract to develop the 75 MW Noblesfontein project at a cost of €160m.