Two SA energy leaders join forces on 720MW wind farm

Two leading local energy companies - developer Red Cap Energy and independent power producer (IPP) Anthem - have partnered to build the Nuweveld Wind Farm, a 720-megawatt (MW) wind farm in the upper Karoo region of the Western Cape. The development has secured grid capacity allocation, as well as registration with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) – with a 100 kilometres (km) transmission line permitted to connect the renewable energy projects to the grid. Once constructed, this will be South Africa’s largest private wind farm to date.

Mark Tanton, the CEO at Red Cap Energy, said, “Mega projects like this are key to ensuring a sustainable power supply over the next decade and beyond. We’re currently experiencing relief from load shedding, due to the Eskom plant turnaround and reduced industrial demand – but that could change. When industrial activity picks up again, the country will need a significant amount of new generation capacity. Wind energy offers a strong complement to South Africa’s existing generation base, because it can balance the country’s reliance on coal and provide clean, cost-effective power during peak demand periods.”

The Nuweveld Wind Farm is expected to come online in late 2028, at a crucial point in the energy transition, as South Africa faces the decommissioning of ageing coal-fired power stations in the next few years. Several Eskom plants must be decommissioned by 2030 due to age and environmental non-compliance. Considering the long development timeframe of power plants, projects like Nuweveld present an opportunity to firm up the energy supply gaps along the way.

James Cumming, the CEO at Anthem, said, “Both Anthem and Red Cap saw the value in collaborating on this project, which is progressing to the budget quote phase. After seven years in development, we’ll manage the next stages together – merging Anthem’s deep sector expertise in owning and operating renewable energy projects across the country with Red Cap’s experience as developers."

 A critical factor in the success of the project so far has been Red Cap’s ability to take on the development of the 100km transmission line - drawing on their experience developing a 116km transmission line as part of their work on the Impofu Wind Farms (South Africa's largest private wind farm at the time).

 “When it comes to getting a project over the line and securing grid access – being proactive has been a key tenet of our success. Our experience with Impofu, as well as the trust-based relationships we’ve nurtured with landowners whose properties the lines have to cross, have been critical to making these projects viable," said Tanton.

The Nuweveld Wind Farm Projects comprise three 240MW facilities, located 65km North of Beaufort West and 30km South of Loxton. All three projects were registered with Nersa as private sector projects in April and May 2025. As a result of this development, as well as several others in the area, the Western Cape has climbed to second place, after Limpopo, for megawatts registered by private companies, according to Nersa data up to mid-September 2025.

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