Vestas lands 373-MW order in South Africa from IPP Red Rocket

March 14 (Renewables Now) - Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) on Tuesday said it has received a 373-MW order in South Africa from independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket.

The order is for three wind parks, called Brandvalley, Rietkloof and Wolf, which will be located in Western Cape and Eastern Cape and will start operations in 2024.

Vestas will supply and install three different turbine variants for the projects -- 64 units of the V150-4.5 MW turbine, 12 units of the V163-4.5 MW variant and five V162-6.2 MW Enventus wind turbines.

The deal will mark the first installation globally of the V163-4.5 MW turbine from the manufacturer’s 4-MW platform. This machine has a large rotor-size-to-rating ratio, which results in a higher capacity factor and significantly increases power output at lower wind speeds, the company said.

The contract also includes a 15-year Active Output Management 5000 agreement.

Vestas says it has over 1.3 GW installed or under construction in South Africa, which aims to reach 17.7 GW of wind capacity by 2030 and raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to about 41% by 2030 from 11% now.