About nine turbines, including 27 blades and other components were transported from Richards Bay Port along the N2.
The convoy, managed by Vanguard, was about 335m long and took three days to complete.
Each turbine consisted of 12 components, and special trucks were used to move a single turbine blade from the port to the Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Energy Facility.
Seriti Green’s Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Energy Facility, is located in Bethal, Mpumalanga.
Road modifications along the N2 were implemented to ensure that the turbine blades are transported safely.
At the time, Mike Teke, Group CEO of Seriti Resources and Chairman of Seriti Green, said, “this future contribution to South Africa’s climate commitments will powerfully demonstrate our leadership in building a more diversified and sustainable energy landscape. The project will also bolster the nation’s energy security by increasing generation capacity, contributing to a more stable and secure electricity supply.”
In addition to energy generation, the project created just over 1,000 jobs.
Seriti Green Chief Executive, Peter Venn, said “Seriti Green is delighted with the progress of the project. Of the over 1000 people employed at the Wind Energy Facility 586 people (58.6%) come from local communities. Digitally Seriti Green has registered over 17, 000 jobseekers, achieving a 50/50 gender split. This highlights our commitment to fostering diversity while providing much-needed employment opportunities.”
Speaking on behalf of Vanguard, Ryan Hosking said, “our South African team has been planning and preparing for the port handling and transportation for these wind turbines for over a year. This is a complex engineering and logistical operation, and our experience over the past 15 years in the wind energy sector has placed us in good stead to execute this project safely and efficiently.”
Picture: Supplied