Metro Wind Van Staadens Wind Farm

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In December 2011, Metrowind - a local renewable energy developer - was awarded the rights to develop a 26.16 MW wind farm to be located in Van Staaden, Eastern Cape. The project was also 35% backed by South African firm Basil Reade Holdings. The project was to consist of 9 turbines between 2.3-3.0MW each. A potential second phase was to include an additional 8-12 turbines. The project company was: Metrowind (Pty) Ltd. The project was awarded in a tender administered by the Department of Energy where a critical factor in the decision was the projected price of power. Contractual negotiations on the PPA and financing were to be completed by June 2012. The tender was open to all technologies, 53 bids were submitted of which 28 made it to preferred bidder status. These 28 project account for a total of 1,416MW if all are implemented. The EIA was passed (as was required for all bidders). Construction was expected to start mid-2012. Commissioning was expected for August 2013. Vestas was to be the equipment supplier - it was considering producing the wind mills locally. Basil Read was the EPC contractor for the project. Afri-coast was to be the civil engineer. TWP-ES was responsible for environmental monitoring. TWP investments was the project financier. The project was to be connected to the NMBM grid. Wind measurements were performed by Kjeller Windtechnik, from Norway. The land rights were held by the project company for the development period, plus 20 years. Total project cost was estimated as ZAR 450 million (USD 58 million). IRR was expected at >20% at ZAR1.02/kWh tariff. The EPC contract was on a cost-plus (12%) basis. Financial closure was expected for February 2012. Under the tender, the deadline for Financial Closure was June 2013. In November 2012, the project attained financial close. The reported total project cost was USd 50 million. Standard Bank provided loan financing to the project with a USD 37.5 million local currency loan. The sponsors provided USD 12.5 million of equity to the project. http://www.windpowerintelligence.com/article/c9aEOAX1zuI/2011/12/20/south_africa_26mw_noblesfontein_wind_farm_approved/ http://www.basilread.co.za/presentations/2011/BR-InvestorUpdate-01-06-09.pdf