A mega-scale wind project, which includes a 100-km self-build transmission line to connect into the national grid, is steadily advancing towards construction, which is currently anticipated to begin in the middle of 2026.

The 720 MW Nuweveld Wind Farm is sited in the upper Karoo region of the Western Cape, and is being pursued in a partnership between independent power producer (IPP) Anthem (70%) and renewables developer Red Cap (30%), with all the electricity contracted to licensed traders.

The project has been broken into three 240 MW facilities, which will be located 65-km north of Beaufort West and 30-km south of Loxton, and all three facilities have been registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

Red Cap CEO Mark Tanton tells Engineering News that, once constructed, the facility will be South Africa's largest wind farm to date, with the related grid infrastructure, which includes a main transmission substation (MTS), scaled to match Nuweveld's peak generation.

The project was initially to be developed in three entirely separate phases, but economics dictated that it be upscaled to justify the major grid investments. Here, Red Cap drew on its experience in developing a 116-km transmission line as part of its work with Enel Green Power on the Impofu Wind Farms, in the Eastern Cape.

Tanton says the powerline connecting the Nuweveld MTS to Eskom's Droerivier substation has been fully permitted, and integrated into the National Transmission Company South Africa's (NTCSA's) Transmission Development Plan.

The 400-kV powerline will traverse 39 farms owned by 20 landowners, while the wind farm itself will be built on 12 farm portions and involve five landowners.

A total of 105 turbines will be installed, with hub heights of between 80 m and 150 m, blade lengths of up to 95 m, and a nameplate capacity of 8 MW apiece.

Anthem CEO James Cumming reports that Nuweveld is progressing to a grid-connection budget quote phase, with the NTCSA having already allocated grid capacity to the project.

Once the budget quote is secured, which is anticipated in mid-2026, Anthem and Red Cap are confident that the project will advance to financial close, with funders having been identified and with negotiations well under way with turbines suppliers and engineering, procurement and construction contractors.

The Nuweveld Wind Farm is expected to come online in late 2028, which is expected to be a crucial point in South Africa's energy transition, with several coal stations scheduled for decommissioning in 2030.

"Considering the long development timeframe of power plants, projects like Nuweveld present an opportunity to firm up the energy supply gaps along the way," Tanton says, noting that development activity on the project began seven years ago.

For Red Cap the project will also mark its steady transition from pure developer to IPP, with the South African entity set to retain a 30% equity stake.