Sudan’s plan to set up its first commercial-scale wind energy plant has received a huge boost as a 63m-tall wind turbine has completed an epic 19-day journey from the Netherlands to Dongola in the country’s Northern region, via Port Sudan, with construction will begin shortly and is estimated to take two to three weeks.
Funded by the government of Sudan and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it is expected that the project will be used to chart a course for the future of wind farms across Sudan, considering the efforts of the government to attract renewable energy investment.
The turbine will demonstrate the viability of utility-scale wind energy in Africa’s third-largest nation and is expected to provide power to 14,000 people, connecting to the national grid. Through this, the project seeks to capitalize on the nation’s significant wind-energy potential to improve access to energy, diversify Sudan’s power sources, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The Director-General of the Directorate of Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Yasir Abdalla Saied, said: “The arrival of our first wind turbine marks the first step in Sudan’s wind power journey and continues the significant advances in renewable energy we have made over the past decade”
Made in the Netherlands, the turbine was shipped to Port Sudan to settle at a wind farm site in Dongola. Opportunities associated with the development of the turbine include the provision of training and employment to equip engineers with skills to support future wind projects the country is set to build.
