Italian electric utility Enel SpA said that its 145-MW Garob wind farm erected in the Northern Cape province of South Africa has started commercial operation. Local subsidiary Enel Green Power RSA oversaw the EUR-200-million (USD 225.7m) project. Garob has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with South African utility Eskom. Enel estimates that the new wind facility would generate 573 GWh per year, enough to avoid up to 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The wind farm was secured at the April 2015 fourth tender round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
With Garob, EGP RSA now has a total of 10 wind and solar farms operational, with a combined installed capacity of more than 800 MW, the Italian major noted. It plans to further expand its portfolio through participation in future tenders and power purchase agreements (PPAs) with industrial and commercial clients. Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l’energia elettrica, was first established as a public body at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a limited company in 1992.