Wind turbine manufacturer and supplier Vestas has secured a contract for the supply and installation of wind turbines for independent power producer Red Rocket's Brandvalley, Rietkloof and Wolf wind parks, to be built in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.

The three wind farms will have a combined capacity of 373 MW and the contract will entail the supply and installation of 64 V150-4.5 MW wind turbines, 12 V163-4.5 MW wind turbines and five V162-6.2 MW Enventus wind turbines.

The order includes the first installations globally of the V163-4.5 MW wind turbine from Vestas’ 4 MW platform. Featuring an 18% increase in swept area, the V163-4.5 MW has a large rotor-size-to-rating ratio, resulting in a higher capacity factor, enabling up to 10% higher yearly energy production at park level, compared with the V150-4.5 MW turbine, depending on site-specific conditions.

This increases power output at lower wind speeds significantly and improves predictability and stability in production, optimising the utilisation of the wind park and benefitting the energy grid, says Vestas.

Turbine delivery and commissioning are expected by 2024.

Vestas will also service the wind parks under a 15-year Active Output Management 5000 agreement.

"With three different wind turbine variants across platforms, this order showcases that we are able to enhance the customer business case through optimising the layout on each wind project site with Vestas’ flexible and diverse product portfolio.

"We firmly believe that our partnership can make a significant contribution to a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy mix in South Africa,” Vestas sales & business development senior director Malte Meyer comments. 

“Red Rocket has been investing and supporting South Africa’s electricity crisis [mitigation] for more than a decade and, with a portfolio of more than 1 000 MW of wind, hydro and solar projects under development, in construction or in operation in the country, we are delighted to continue making a significant contribution to South Africa and the rest of the continent.

“The projects will bring a R740-million community investment over 20 years through local social projects. The wind farms will start operating in 2024,” Red Rocket CEO Matteo Brambilla adds.