German wind power company Nordex has launched a turbine in South Africa, which it says is capable of achieving up to 28.6% more yield in light-wind locations.

The new N131/3000 turbine was launched during the recent WINDaba in Cape Town, which had brought together local and international players in the wind energy industry.

“The turbine is a highly efficient system specifically designed for low-wind conditions, categorised as IEC-3 locations. South Africa has identified several IEC-3 locations where wind power can only be harvested with this kind of turbine. This opens up exciting new prospects,” Nordex Energy South Africa MD Anne Henschel said at the launch.

The turbine has a tubular steel tower with a hub height of 99 m and 114 m. Its special
feature is the substantially larger rotor. With rotor blades measuring 64.4 m in length, the rotor diameter is 14 m larger. This kind of sweep yields more energy.

Nordex has installed 72 wind turbines in South Africa and was currently involved in three projects in the Eastern Cape through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPPP) – the Dorper wind farm, led by Rainmaker Energy and Sumitomo; the Kouga Wind farm, led by Red Cap; and the Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm, led by Cennergi.

The Nordex Trust has been set up with a 20% shareholding in Nordex South Africa to promote socioeconomic development, black economic empowerment and local social innovation.

The German company has sponsored the Muizenberg Water Riders and the Palama Metsi Surfing Development Academy. Besides other projects, it has donated a decommissioned wind turbine to Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, to support the roll-out of an educational curriculum in renewable energy for engineering students.

Nordex is the third-largest wind turbine manufacturer active in South Africa, following Vestas and Siemens. Nordex, which employs 40 staff in South Africa, has 20% of the market share in the country’s wind industry.