Gamesa is to be awarded the contract for supplying turbines for a 25-35 MW farm to be built near the major diamond mine at Letseng-La-Terai, Lesotho. Lesotho, a land-locked Kingdom surrounded by South Africa, is a major exporter of diamonds, but is one of the world’s poorer countries.
The project is being developed by South African consultancy NETGroup in partnership with Lesotho’s Powerdev Group. The two signed a joint agreement with the Government of Lesotho last December.
At present the main electricity generation for Lesotho is the hydroelectric power station at Muela, drawing power from the water travelling to South Africa. Water exits from the three 24MW turbines into the Muela tailpond, a 55m high, 6 million cubic metre capacity dam, built on the Nqoe River.
Construction will begin in 2012, following on from an environmental impact assessment. It should be completed before the end of next year.
Letseng-La-Terai in the Mokhotlong district (meaning “Land of the bald Ibis”), 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital, and will boost the total of the country’s electricity output to more than 90 megawatts. The original plan had called for the wind turbines plant stems to be 80 meters (260 feet) tall, but were reduced to 60 meters because the country’s roads have too many hairpin bends to transport anything bigger. Lesotho offers the opportunity to build one of the highest wind farms in the world, with more than 80% of its territory lying at least 1800m above sea level. A key requirement was that the turbines had to be certified for use at altitudes of 3200-metres: The high altitude of its Maluti mountains carries risks- it has one of the highest lightning strike rates in the world and temperatures plunge to -20C in winter.
After setting up the wind farm, the company is planning to sell the produced power to Lesotho Electricity Company, a Lesotho government company.
This is all part of the Lesotho highlands power project (LHPP) which will generate 6 000 megawatts (MW) of wind power and 4 000MW of hydropower, equivalent to about 5% of South Africa’s electricity needs. The electricity generated by wind and water will be used by Lesotho and South Africa, which faces a constant battle to keep up with growing energy demands.
The Lesotho Government says the scheme will help end its plight as one of the world’s poorest countries, “making it a case study in how investing in renewable energy can transform a nation’s fortunes“.
Investors say the power project will create 25 000 jobs over 15 years. Some 1 500 technicians and engineers will be employed on a permanent basis. The difficult construction of roads and transmission lines will open up isolated communities, giving them access to markets and government services.
Monyane Moleleki, Lesotho’s natural resources minister, said: “The Lesotho highlands power project promises hitherto unheard of positives for the socio-economic wellbeing of our nation. The project comes at a time in our history when our traditional income streams have dried up due largely to the global economic meltdown.”
