Plans are underway to develop South Africa's first offshore wind farm off the coast of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal

What: The proposed Gagasi Offshore Floating Wind Farm aims to generate approximately 810 MW of power.

Why: Recent studies have highlighted South Africa’s enormous offshore wind potential.

What next: There are some steps still to be taken before the project goes ahead, with an environmental impact assessment being the first crucial step before construction could begin.

GenesisHexicon, a South African-Swedish joint venture (JV), is planning to build a huge floating wind farm off the coast of Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, News24 reported on March 1.

The proposed ZAR55bn ($2.9bn) Gagasi Offshore Floating Wind Farm, developed by Genesis Eco-Energy Developments, a South African renewable energy company which is part of the Genesis Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Group, and Stockholm-listed Hexicon, a Swedish floating wind farm developer, will be South Africa’s first offshore wind farm.

The project, now undergoing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to evaluate potential effects on marine ecology, fishing activities, and visual aesthetics, aims to generate approximately 810 megawatts (MW) of power.

While Africa has significant offshore wind potential, challenges such as high development costs, lack of infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles have slowed offshore wind farm development on the continent. Currently, the continent does not have any operational offshore wind farms. However, several countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Namibia, are exploring offshore wind potential, with projects at various stages of planning and development.

Recent studies have highlighted South Africa’s enormous offshore wind potential, with a 2020 World Bank report estimating 901GW of technical generation capacity, about 30 times more than the country’s electricity needs. While South Africa already has many land-based wind and solar developments, offshore wind energy potential is yet to be explored, says News24. Although offshore wind farms are generally more expensive to build, they benefit from stronger and more consistent winds at sea.

Pioneering project

The Gasagi wind farm will span a 140km2 area, extending for 29km between the Richards Bay Port entrance and Richards Bay Minerals’ Zulti North dune mining operations.

The GenesisHexicon JV recently released a scoping document for the project with some of the proposed specifications, as reported by News24. According to the document, up to 54 wind turbines will be placed on floating platforms in waters more than 50m deep, starting about 4.1km offshore in the north and extending up to 13.6 km offshore in the south.

The turbines will have a maximum height of 370m from the sea level to the top blade, making them taller than South Africa’s tallest building, the Leonardo, in Johannesburg. There will be a minimum distance of 800m between the turbines. The wind farm will take a minimum of three years to build, the scoping document says, but it could also be phased over 10 years to allow for supply chain logistics and possible local grid connectivity constraints.

The construction of the first phase of the project is expected to start in 2029. However, there are some steps still to be taken before the project goes ahead, with the EIA being the first crucial step before construction could begin.

The project also faces regulatory and financial hurdles before it can move forward. If it receives the green light, the Gagasi Offshore Floating Wind Farm could become the country’s first offshore development with more than five times the capacity of the largest onshore wind farms built in South Africa to date, according to News24.

Addressing concerns

This pioneering project will mark the country’s entry into offshore wind energy and contribute significantly to South Africa’s renewable energy targets. Managing director at Genesis Eco-Energy Developments, Davin Chown, said the company was confident of the project’s success.

“There will always be sceptics. But we are already at a point where we are saying to folks, ‘We are happy to talk to you about contracts for offtake’ because we are confident that these projects will see the light of day sooner rather than later,” he was quoted by News24 as saying.

According to Chown, the company’s significant investment in development work reflects its confidence in the project’s likelihood of approval. Regarding regulations, he mentioned that the offshore project would undergo a process similar to that of an onshore wind project. He also noted strong interest from international markets in financing the initiative.

Chown further explained that the government’s current Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) did not include offshore wind projects, but the company was keeping an eye on any potential changes. Moreover, Genesis saw strong potential in the expanding private offtake market, he said.

Addressing South Africa’s grid capacity, Chown highlighted that KwaZulu-Natal was chosen for the project partly owing to its reasonable available grid capacity. He also expressed confidence that the government’s efforts to improve grid access in the region would be effective.

Speaking about cost concerns, Chown pointed out that technology advancements were steadily decreasing costs for offshore wind projects, making them only slightly more expensive than onshore projects.

“While it seems that there is a lot of cost in it at the moment, bear in mind that with each of these technologies that get developed and as projects mature and are better understood and supply chains come into full operation, there are obviously a lot of opportunities to reduce the costs,” he said, adding that the company was confident of getting a tariff that would be “fairly attractive to the South African market.”

Furthermore, Chown stated that offshore wind projects could create substantial opportunities for local industries in procuring materials and services within South Africa. This would support the country’s broader goal of boosting industrial development and economic growth.

“We have the confidence that these projects will work, they will be financed, and they will bring many significant industrial benefits to South Africa,” he concluded.