Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Farm

Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Farm

The wind farm’s primary area of community development are the towns of Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Loeries, Thornhill, St Francis, Oyster Bay, Gibson Bay, Hankey and Patensie. The wind project committed 1.1% of its total revenue towards socio-economic development and 0.4% to developing local enterprises. A community trust holds 6% of the shares in the project company.

More info on the project website http://jeffreysbaywindfarm.co.za/

The Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Farm is a 138 MW wind farm comprising of 60 2.3MW turbines. The Department of Energy approved the project in Round 1 of the REIPPPP. It is situated on farmland close to the town of Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape province and is fully operational since July 2014.

The wind farm’s primary area of community development are the towns of Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Loeries, Thornhill, St Francis, Oyster Bay, Gibson Bay, Hankey and Patensie. The wind project committed 1.1% of its total revenue towards socio-economic development and 0.4% to developing local enterprises. A community trust holds 6% of the shares in the project company.

More info on the project website http://jeffreysbaywindfarm.co.za/

Community benefit highlights

1. Spelling bee programme in local primary schools
2. University bursaries for engineering students
3. Reading coach programme in local primary schools
4. Maternal health and early child hood development
5. Equipment and training for local farmers

Community ownership

The Amandla Omoya Trust represents the local communities and holds 6% of the total project shares. To finance its share of the cost of constructing the project, the trust secured a loan from the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). The loan will be repaid through the shareholder dividends generated by the project and once repaid the trust will use its share of the dividends to benefit the local community. The Trust was established to provide economic development support to the local community living within the 50km radius with 85% of the beneficiaries being black.