Name of the Project
Koruson 1 wind project.

Location
Middelburg, in the Umsombomvu local municipality, on the boundary of the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces, in South Africa.

Project Owner/s
EDF Renewables and black economic-empowered partners H1 Holdings, GIBB-Crede and a local community trust.

Project Description
The Koruson 1 project's three sites are spread across 50 km². 

The project comprises the Sankraal, Coleskop and Phezukomova wind farm projects. Every wind farm has a capacity of 140 MW, with a total installed capacity of 420 MW. This makes it the biggest wind farm ever built in Africa. 

Every wind farm will comprise 26 wind turbines with a hub height of 124 m, a blade length of 81.35 m and weight of 28 t.

The projects were procured under Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

EDF Renewables is also building the 400/132 kV Koruson main transmission substation (MTS) on behalf of State-owned power utility Eskom under a self-build agreement, which will be transferred to Eskom upon completion.

The projects will sell power to Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Potential Job Creation
About 3 800 workers are currently on site. The project is creating significant employment, and local resources and businesses are being used wherever possible.

More than 40% of the project’s value comprises South African goods and services, and 1.25% of revenue generated by the projects over their contractual period will be applied to socioeconomic development initiatives for nearby local communities

Capital Expenditure
R11-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Phezukomoya and San Kraal reached financial close in November 2022. Coleskop reached financial close in January 2023.

Latest Developments
South Africa's first self-build MTS by an independent power producer (IPP) was completed and energised in April 2025. 
The Koruson 400/132 kV MTS outside Noupoort has been designed and built to connect 1.5 GW of renewable energy to the national grid.

EDF Renewables and its partners are also developing the adjacent Koruson 1 cluster of projects, which will connect to the grid through the MTS, as part of the IPP Office's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The MTS, which is integrated into an existing 400 kV overhead line, will provide the infrastructure for the renewable-energy farms to complete their respective connections to the grid and start exporting energy.

Phase 1 of the energisation will result in the Koruson 1 project’s connecting three wind energy facilities (WEFs), totalling 420 MW, to the national grid. In Phase 2, the neighbouring Envusa Energy Koruson 2 project will connect two WEFs and a solar farm, totalling 520 MW, to the national grid. Each of the individual renewable-energy facilities will have its own distribution connection, consisting of 132kV overhead lines and Eskom switching stations, built under a self-build agreement with the national grid operator.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
EDF Renewables, tel +27 21 657 4200 or email info@edf-re.co.za.