The Nojoli wind farm: empowering the local community

In South Africa, Enel Green Power operates 12 wind and solar plants, with a total capacity of 1.2 GW. One of them, Nojoli, is located in the Eastern Cape province, an area whose geographical features make it perfect for wind generation. This is thanks to the powerful wind flows along the coastline and the strong and steady wind current between Cookhouse and the Lesotho border. Furthermore, the windy areas are close to grid connections, making it easy to feed the power into the Rainbow Nation’s electricity supply. Nojoli was the first EGP wind farm to start production in South Africa, in 2016. Its average annual production of 275 GWh is equal to the yearly consumption of about 86,000 South African households, which means it avoids the emission of over 251,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. Water resources and sustainable efficiency At Nojoli, sustainability is associated with water-saving measures, such as the installation of water tanks and rainwater collection systems. This is simple, inexpensive and easy to maintain technology that connects roof building gutters to tanks that are capable of holding about 15m3 of water. South Africa is a relatively dry country: the issue is not that it never rains, but rather that, when it does, most of the runoff is lost. The installation of these tanks reduces the usage of borehole water and provides an excellent back-up source of water for emergencies. Moreover, a number of innovative technologies have been implemented to improve maintenance efficiency and safety. Particularly significant are two practices connected with oil leakage prediction. The first is hydraulic system analysis, which makes it possible not only to foresee potential failures or major damage in pitch cylinders, valves, motors and other elements, but also to program access to the turbines during low-wind windows to perform the corresponding correction. Benefits include energy loss reduction due to failures in the hydraulic and pitch circuits, reduced generation of hazardous waste, and decrease in environmental and social impact due to oil leakage outside the turbine. The second practice connected with oil leakage is the condition monitoring system, which monitors vibrations to detect in advance the early faults in the internal parts of the gearbox, in order to prevent catastrophic damage leading to massive oil leakages. The replacement of the central unit improves vibration data post-processing, early fault discovery and planned maintenance. This system makes it possible to perform specific uptower repairs with no need to replace the entire gearbox, thereby avoiding oil replacement. Smart glass technology has also been introduced at Nojoli. This means that site inspections and critical plant operations can be conducted remotely, safely and quickly while maintaining high standards. IT Hubs Nojoli has implemented a number of sustainability projects with significant social impact. These include facilities which provide access to modern Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), a powerful tool for poverty alleviation among the rural population in developing countries. EGP has also set up two IT Hubs in the nearby towns of Bedford and Cookhouse, whose communities expressed the need to be provided with stable access to the internet and computers coupled with training on new digital technologies for young people seeking employment. The IT Hubs are managed by the local community, and onsite training enables its members to maintain the two hubs on their own, thereby leading to the creation of new jobs. Solar panels provide energy to the two shipping containers that have been converted into IT Hubs. Here servers, computers and printers have been installed to provide useful services that help solve people’s daily problems. And, thanks to thermal insulation and a ventilation system, the Hubs can also be used during the hottest hours of the day. “The IT Hub provides our community with access not only to computers and internet connectivity, but also to e-mailing, scanning, typing, printing, lamination, data bundles, prepaid electricity and airtime. The convenience of having these services on our doorstep cannot be sufficiently emphasized, we no longer have to spend money travelling 24km to Somerset East to access such services, and the prices are so affordable”. Rosetta Leeuskitter, Cookhouse IT Hub customer Creating opportunities for young men and women In South Africa, EGP set up training centers for specialized technical personnel that saw over two thousand employees earn fully-fledged qualification, with a solid representation of women. EGP’s efforts focus on strengthening the link between education and training and the labor market, thus improving youth employment prospects, particularly for disadvantaged youngsters in the towns close to its plants. In the case of Nojoli, one such area is the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, a rural community that includes the imposing and majestic Winterberg (IiNtabazeNkonkobe) mountain range. The local labor force is largely unskilled and with little education. Here, EGP trained 20 unemployed youths in Rigging, Slinging and Working at Heights. According to Nojoli community liaison officer Bonji Siwisa, host communities tend to have a negative outlook on life, with no vision of where they would like to be five years from now. The message that EGP RSA strives to implant in the youth is that their past does not determine their future, and that there are lots of opportunities out there, such as the ones provided by this training program. “I am keen to secure a job as a rigging assistant during construction of wind farms or power stations or at a harbor/port or other construction sites. I am no longer despondent about job prospects, and I strongly believe that doors will open for me, and I will be able to supplement the meagre income brought in by my parents, who are currently doing menial, low-paying jobs. I truly thank EGP for this golden opportunity and for showing us females that no job is impossible to do as long as you have your heart in the right place. I am convinced that there are no limits to the possibilities.” Vuyokazi Sizani, trainee In the words of Nelson Mandela The Nojoli Sustainable Plant confirms the special commitment to sustainability in South Africa made by EGP, with its various efforts to boost local socioeconomic empowerment through job creation and education, which, as Nelson Mandela said, is “the great engine to personal development.”

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The Nojoli wind farm: empowering the local community

The Nojoli wind farm: empowering the local community

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