Commercial and industrial renewable-energy company NOA Group has announced financial close on its first wholly owned large-scale wind energy project, the 94.5 MW Wind Garden plant, near Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape.

A formal ground-breaking ceremony marking the start of construction was held on May 7.

“Wind Garden marks a major step in NOA Group’s expansion of its national footprint, designed to build a robust portfolio of renewable energy generation assets.

“Achieving these goals relies on strong financial partnerships, which are essential to unlocking private investment that supports both economic recovery and South Africa’s decarbonisation ambitions,” said NOA Group CEO Karel Cornelissen.

The facility will produce an estimated 287 GWh/y of clean power, offsetting over 304 000 t/y of CO₂. The project comprises 21 Vestas turbines, each with a capacity of 4.5 MW, are 112 m tall and have 75-m-long blades.

“Wind Garden is not only our first wholly owned project to reach financial close and enter construction, but also underscores NOA’s role in a decentralised, private energy market, which is to deliver cost-effective and sustainable power to commercial and industrial customers.

“This comes at a time when South Africa is shifting away from public procurement as the primary driver of large-scale renewable energy, with private offtaker agreements and independent power producers increasingly taking the lead,” added Cornelissen.

This project marks the second NOA development to be financed by financial services firm Standard Bank, following the recent financial close of the 140 MW, R4.9-billion Ishwati Emoyeni Wind Farm.

“This milestone underscores both our commitment to NOA and our shared commitment to advancing South Africa’s energy transition,” said Standard Bank energy and infrastructure finance executive Nicholas Knott-Craig.

“This successful transaction demonstrates Standard Bank’s leadership in the renewable-energy and aggregator space, and our unwavering commitment to supporting our clients,” said Standard Bank Energy and Infrastructure client coverage executive Vincenzia Leitch.

South Africa’s renewable-energy market has entered a phase of exponential growth and has an estimated R150-billion investment pipeline across solar PV and wind projects by 2030.

According to investment promotion agency GreenCape’s ‘Large Scale Renewable Energy Market Intelligence Report 2025’, with 15 GW of renewable-energy projects connected or under construction in 2024, the market is projected to more than double by 2030, reaching 32 GW, driven largely by private-sector demand and corporate sustainability goals.