BioTherm Energy has announced the completion of the 123 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility, meaning all four of its projects have come online in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. For the project, the company invested $449.6 million which was done in partnership with Thebe Investment Corporation (TIC), which has a 37.5 per cent stake in all four projects. Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility is located on 9,000 hectares of farmland 5 km off Cookhouse. It is connected to the grid through an on-site substation and a dedicated 132kV power line connecting to the Kopleegte substation.
Construction commenced two years ago and provided employment to 500 workers, mostly from its surrounding beneficiary communities within the Blue Crane Route Local Municipal area. The project is also linked to economic development programmes, for the 20-year operations period. The focus will be on education, skills development, healthcare, and local enterprise addressed through collaboration and partnership with local stakeholders and members of the community. The Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility is expected to generate over 477GWh of renewable power annually which will power the energy needs of approximately 120,000 households.
The project joins BioTherm’s other commissioned projects like the 33MW Excelsior Wind Energy Facility, in the Western Cape, 46MW Aggeneys Solar, and the 86MW Konkoonsies II Solar project. These projects are a part of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme’s fourth bid round.
