Goldwind to supply one of South Africa’s largest wind farms

China’s Goldwind has landed a deal to supply turbines to a 380MW wind farm in South Africa that will be one of the country’s largest and counts mining giant Rio Tinto as a major offtaker.

Goldwind announced today that it is partnering with South African developer Red Rocket to supply 242MW of wind turbines for the latter's Overberg Wind Farm project, which is being built in two phases.

Goldwind will supply 39 of its 6.2MW medium-speed permanent magnet wind turbines for Overberg, which is in South Africa’s Western Cape province, not far from Cape Town.

“With our commitment to technological reliability, exceptional grid adaptability, and the trust of local partners, we are proud to support South Africa’s energy transition and sustainable future,” wrote Goldwind on LinkedIn.

Goldwind is the world’s largest turbine supplier by volume, although the vast majority of its orders are still concentrated in China. Like other turbine makers from the country, it has increasingly looked for opportunities to expand internationally amid fierce price competition at home.

Red Rocket yesterday announced reaching financial close on the first phase of its Overberg project, which will be developed in two phases with an eventual capacity of 380MW. It is expected to start generating power in 2027.

A subsidiary of British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement to offtake 230MW of power from the project.

Matteo Brambilla, CEO of Red Rocket, welcomed the partnership with Rio Tinto in a press release yesterday, saying his company was proud to collaborate on this “landmark project”.

“Overberg Wind Farm is a testament to what is possible when ambitious renewable energy targets meet the expertise and drive to bring them to life. As South Africa’s largest privately developed single wind farm, this project highlights the immense potential of private sector-led renewable energy development to reshape the country’s energy landscape.”

South Africa meanwhile is in desperate need of new power facilities – as well as grid upgrades – having suffered rolling blackouts in recent years. The situation had improved recently, but in January the country saw its first blackouts for 10 months after breakdowns at coal-fired power stations run by state utility Eskom.