Game-changing wind turbines launched in South Africa

In the past few months, Cape Town-based energy company Red Rocket and its partners have installed two cutting-edge wind turbine models in South Africa that had never before been used on the continent.

These include one of the world’s largest wind turbines, providing roughly double the peak capacity of turbines currently installed at the country’s largest wind farms.

The independent power producer (IPP) is currently constructing its 85MW Wolf Wind Farm in the Eastern Cape.

The plant is one of the projects chosen by the government in the fifth bid window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP).

Once completed, Wolf Wind Farm will consist of 17 turbines, including five Vestas V162-6.2MW turbines.

The first of these turbines was installed at the site in August 2024.

With a peak output of 6.2MW, the turbine boasts the second-largest capacity of any onshore wind turbine currently in operation, with only the Nordex/6.X offering about 0.6MW more peak power.

For reference, the most common turbines used in South Africa boast capacities of around 3MW, around half the Vesta V162’s.

The turbine’s name is derived from its rotor diameter, which measures 162 meters, compared to the roughly 120m to 140m of most current wind turbines in South Africa.

The hub height of the V162’s turbine ranges from 119 metres to 169 metres, depending on the site type and configuration.

The other 12 wind turbines at the site will be the Vestas V163-4.5MW, which Red Rocket has also described as a “revolutionary” new wind turbine.

The first turbine with this design was installed in November 2024.

While it has a lower peak output than the V162, it boasts a marginally longer blade, supporting an 18% increase in the swept area of conventional turbines.

The V163 is specifically designed for medium and lower wind environments and can produce up to 10% more annual energy than conventional turbines.

According to Windpower Monthly, the V163 has been a huge success for Vestas.

Roughly a year after its launch, the US had ordered well over 1,100 of the turbines with combined capacity exceeding 5,000MW.

Red Rocket project engineer Michael Martin said the V163 was the first to use such a large blade in South Africa and the larger region, which showed that the company wanted to push the boundaries by trying new technology.

He explained the 113-meter high hub of the turbine required a foundation over 21 metres wide and 3.4 metres deep, filled with 1,400 tonnes of concrete for holding the turbine mast.

Below are images of the installation of the first V162 and V163 turbines at Red Rocket’s Wolf Wind Farm in the Eastern Cape.

A small cog in a growing machine

As of early December 2024, 10 of the 17 turbines at Wolf Wind Farm were installed.

The facility is expected to reach commercial operation in 2025, after which it will provide 360 gigawatt-hours of power annually, sufficient to meet the demand of about 110,000 households.

Red Rocket already has four operational renewable power plants and another four currently under construction.

These include the 240MW Virginia Solar Park and 200MW Good Hope Solar Park, both in the Free State.

As of October 2024, South Africa already had roughly 6,356MW of solar and wind power in operation, with another 2,077MW under construction.

The vast majority of this generation comes from IPPs like Red Rocket.

While there is far more solar capacity installed through the combination of utility-scale and rooftop PV solar, wind offers the advantage of availability during the evenings and early mornings, when electricity usage peaks.