Two utility-scale wind projects in South Africa’s Western Cape have secured full financing, clearing the way for construction and long-term power delivery to private buyers.
Chariot Limited confirmed that financial close was reached on December 15 for the Zen and Bergrivier wind farms. Together, the projects will deliver 190 megawatts of export capacity, with Zen contributing 100 MW and Bergrivier 94 MW.
The projects are structured around committed demand.
All electricity produced will be sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Etana Energy, an electricity trading platform active in South Africa’s private power market. The long-term offtake arrangement provides the revenue certainty required to support project finance and move development into execution.
Ownership is shared among multiple investors. Acciona Energía holds a 51 percent stake, while H1 Holdings owns 25 percent. Chariot Generation and Trading, a subsidiary of Chariot Limited, holds the remaining 24 percent and also maintains an economic interest in Etana Energy.
Construction is expected to begin shortly, with both wind farms scheduled to enter operation by mid-2027. Once online, the projects are expected to displace approximately 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, reflecting the scale at which private renewables are now contributing to South Africa’s energy mix.
The timing is significant.
South Africa’s electricity market has been gradually opening to independent producers, with regulatory changes enabling private generators to sell power directly to commercial and industrial users. Central to this shift is the expansion of wheeling arrangements, which allow electricity to move across the national grid without passing through the state utility’s balance sheet.
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Rather than waiting for central procurement rounds, developers are responding to direct demand from businesses seeking reliable power supply. For industrial users, private wind projects offer predictability in a system still marked by outages and network constraints.
The Zen and Bergrivier projects reflect this market-led momentum. They are not policy experiments or pilot schemes. They are infrastructure assets anchored by contracts, financing, and defined customers.
As more projects follow this model, South Africa’s energy transition is increasingly being shaped by execution on the ground rather than announcements from above.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
