Cennergi, the newly formed “cleaner energy” company started by coal mining giant Exxaro and India’s largest private power company, Tata Power, recently achieved financial closure of its 229MW of wind power projects in the Eastern Cape. This development means that significant investment and funds will start flowing into the communities of Bedford and Cookhouse, which will see renewable energy projects delivering electricity to the national grid.
The financial close of these two wind projects is a promise of hope for the Eastern Cape communities surrounding the projects. Cennergi has a focused and dedicated economic development programme within each project, aimed at developing and uplifting the communities situated in the direct vicinity of each power project.
“Having reached financial closure, we are very excited that these projects now move to the next phase of development. We are one step closer to delivering renewable energy onto the national grid,” commented Wendy Green, Cennergi Manager: Business Development Manager.
Cennergi’s Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm project is a 134MW wind farm located between Bedford and Cookhouse. Fifty-six Nordex turbines of 91 metre hub height and 2.4 MW capacity each will be installed on the land. The area has an excellent wind resource and close proximity to critical infrastructure such as roads and the national electricity grid. The Cookhouse and Bedford Community Trusts together own 5% of the equity of the project but the full benefits of the project will be extended to other towns in the 50km radius like Adelaide and Somerset East.
“The projects’ commitment to socio-economic development has been communicated to the communities through general community gatherings, development forum meetings and other communication tools such as the quarterly newsletters that are distributed in these communities. In this case, all project communities understand that reaching financial close will be a beginning of greater things for them,” said Noxolo Mbana, Cennergi Manager: Sustainability and Economic Development.
“As a Bedford community member, financial close means the start of the construction phase of the project, which will in turn bring about jobs and skills development programmes into our community,” said Dr Lana-Lorraine Blom, Bedford community member and Project Co-ordinator for Thembani SDCC & Bedford Integrated Projects.
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About Cennergi
Cennergi (Pty) Ltd, is a 50:50 joint venture between South African-based diversified resources company Exxaro Resources Limited (Exxaro) and The Tata Power Company Limited (Tata Power), of India, through its subsidiary Khopoli Investments Limited.
Cennergi is based in South Africa and will focus on the, development, ownership, operation, maintenance, acquisition and management of electricity generation assets in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The initial project pipeline focuses on renewable energy projects in South Africa and Cennergi’ s strategy is to create a balanced portfolio of diverse generation assets.
For more information or for any interview requests please contact:
Mbali Ndaba
Siyenza Management
Tel: +27 11 463-9184
Email: mbali@siyenza.za.com