A new agreement between the Mamre Communal Property Owners Association (MCPA) and Western Wind Energy may hold various local opportunities for the development of a coming wind farm.
The association and Paul McNaughton of Western Wind Energy signed a lease agreement on Saturday 8 June. It gives the company the right to bid on behalf of the community when the Department of Energy reopens bids in terms of the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement Programme.
The agreement also “paves the way” for the development of a wind farm on communally-owned land.
The 20-year lease agreement is expected to provide a much-needed economic injection into the town, says Wilfred Johannes-Solomons, MCPA chairperson.
McNaughton says Mamre was “the perfect location” for a wind farm as it is close to Dassenberg sub-station which has a line to nearby Koeberg Power Station.
The wind farm is expected to generate 100 MW of electricity. Wind speeds are projected at 8,2 m per second.
According to the agreement the MCPA and Western Wind Energy will form a consortium with other stakeholders, which will include Mulilo Renewable Project Developments, to fund and drive the project.
McNaughton said further they could either sell the wind energy to Eskom, or feed it directly into the grid of the City of Cape Town.
Solomons-Johannes says the project will change the lives of the Mamre community. He said it has been a long journey with many challenges. The MCPA is custodian of 5 000 hectares of land, and the wind farm would use 1 100 ha.
The plan is to build 34 wind turbines at different sites, including Dassenberg Hill, where wind testing has been ongoing over the past few years to determine suitable locations to generate power.
“If we don’t have a formal agreement, we’re not in the game and can’t bid,” Solomons-Johannes explained. “We must use our land to our benefit, because within three years we have to start paying rates on every hectare of that land.
“A multitude of investors would become part of the consortium to generate funding for the construction of the wind farm. We’re ahead of time, so when government opens bidding we are ready.”
If there are no further delays the initial work is expected that the initial work would take five to 10 years. The project is expected to create 130 jobs.
Solly Fourie, head of the provincial Department of Economic Opportunities and Tourism, was at the signing where he pledged government support for the project.
He reiterated the provincial government’s commitment to green energy. Fourie added that the project would stimulate economic activity in the area and create “new and other jobs for young people.”
