Wind Market South Africa: Red Rocket Reaches Financial Close for Phase 1 of South Africa's Largest Wind Farm - Goldwind to Supply Turbines

Cape Town, South Africa – The renewable energy company Red Rocket from Cape Town, South Africa, has achieved financial close for the first phase of the Overberg Wind Farm. This project marks an important step in South Africa's energy transition.

The wind farm, which will be developed in two phases at a site near Swellendam in the Western Cape, will have a total capacity of 380 MW at full build-out.

The mining company Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, will purchase an annual electricity volume of around 750 million kWh (750 GWh) over a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the first phase, with a capacity of 230 MW. This project is expected to help RBM reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by about 30 percent (0.7 million tons of CO₂e) annually.

The Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind has been awarded the contract to supply turbines for the first phase of the project. The company, listed on the renewable energy index RENIXX World, will supply a total of 39 Goldwind 6.2 MW MSPM (Medium-Speed Permanent Magnet) turbines, which are expected to be commissioned in early 2027.

Upon completion of the entire project, the Overberg Wind Farm will become South Africa's largest privately developed wind farm, according to Red Rocket.

The project is being financed by a consortium consisting of Absa Bank, Standard Bank, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Goldwind's stock has gained 1.6 percent over the past week to reach 0.62 euro (closing price on 14.03.2025, Stuttgart Stock Exchange). The upward trend continues in the current week, with the stock increasing by 3.2 percent to 0.64 euro by Tuesday evening (closing price on 18.03.2025, Stuttgart Stock Exchange). However, compared to the turn of the year, the stock of the RENIXX company is still down by 20 percent.

Source: IWR Online, 19 Mar 2025