Suzlon had originally been tipped for the project, but lost out in the run up to financial close.
Under the deal Nordex will supply 56 N117/2400 turbines, scheduled to start operating in late 2016.
The change at Amakhala Emoyeni was necessary due to the lenders and the engineering, procurement and construction management not being able to agree on terms such as risk sharing, says Hilton Atkinson, external stakeholder relations manager at South Afrian miner Exxaro, Cennergi's joint owner alongside India's Tata Power.
This represents more bad news for Suzlon, which has been crippled by debts that forced it into a restructuring plan and share sell-off that wiped millions off the company’s value earlier this year.
The company has, however, managed to secure one contract in South Africa, for the 138.6MW Cookhouse plant, currently under construction. It is not yet clear if the loss of this second contract will affect Suzlon's plans to manufacture towers locally.
The news about Amakhala Emoyeni came out as Cennergi reached financial close on this and a 95MW project at Tsitsikamma, to be equipped with Vestas turbines.
Vestas alongside Nordex is a key client for a new Port Elizabeth tower manufacturing facility currently under construction, and just this week the Danish firm announced a 94MW turbine deal with a consortium led by GDF Suez.
Both Cennergi projects were awarded in round two of the country's renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPP) . Construction will start soon, for commercial operation late 2016.
Standard Bank, Nedbank and the International Finance Corporation are providing ZAR7 billion (EUR 532 million) debt financing for the two projects, while Exxaro and Tata stump up the remaining ZAR1.8 billion equity share.
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