- Red Rocket has commencement of commercial operations for RietKloof and Brandvalley Wind Farm.
- On 23 April 2025, Rietkloof Wind Farm confirmed the commencement of commercial operation, with Brandvalley Wind Farm following hot on its heels on 24 April 2025.
Located near one another between the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces, the two sister projects (along with Wolf Wind Farm in the Eastern Cape) were awarded Preferred Bidder status in October 2021 under Round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and successfully reached financial close in February 2023. Featuring 32 Vestas V150-4.5MW wind turbines each, the projects boast a combined nameplate capacity of 288MW (144MW at each site).
Rietkloof Wind Farm is anticipated to generate approximately 585GWh of energy per year, with Brandvalley’s expected energy generation set to be approximately 595GWh.
Red Rocket Chief Operating Officer, Luca Silva, commented: “In what has widely become known as a challenging and extremely competitive bid window round, being awarded Preferred Bidder status for these projects, reaching financial close, navigating construction in tough conditions, and ultimately bringing it all to light is an achievement we’re incredibly proud of. We’re honoured to be the first project to reach commercial operations of only a few projects that were able to reach financial close and power South Africa’s energy future.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
