en.Wedoany.com Reported - The first phase of South Africa's largest wind power cluster—the Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Farm—has entered commercial operation, with a total installed capacity of 155 megawatts (MW). Developed by Seriti Green, this phase features 25 Goldwind GWH182-6.2 MW smart wind turbines, with a rotor diameter of 183.5 meters, making them the largest-rotor-diameter turbines among operational wind projects in South Africa.
Attendees at the commissioning ceremony included South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng, Seriti Resources Group CEO Mike Teke, Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn, Goldwind Vice Chairman and President Cao Zhigang, Business Vice President Wang Hai, as well as national, provincial, and local government officials and community leaders from South Africa.
The Ummbila project is positioned as an integrated renewable energy hub, with plans encompassing 750 MW of wind power, 150 MW of solar photovoltaic, and 800 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage. Following the commissioning of Phase One, Phases Two and Three are currently under construction, with full completion expected by 2027, at which point it will become a key pillar supporting South Africa's clean energy transition. As the first wind power project in Mpumalanga Province, the Ummbila project passed provincial and national grid connection tests during the full-site grid synchronization period. The turbines were custom-engineered for the region's high-altitude wind conditions and frequent thunderstorm activity, with an intelligent control platform integrating health diagnostics, load adaptation, and grid-friendly technologies to protect equipment and grid safety under extreme weather conditions.
Phase One construction has already created over 1,200 jobs, with peak employment across the entire cluster expected to reach 2,000 people. Once operational, the project is expected to generate approximately 480,000 MWh of electricity annually, meeting the power needs of around 500,000 households and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 400,000 tons per year. As more than 50% of job skills in the wind power industry overlap with those in the coal sector, this project provides a viable pathway for local workers to transition from the fossil fuel industry.
Goldwind has deployed a local SCADA monitoring center and spare parts hub, providing round-the-clock operation and maintenance support; in 2025, it opened a solutions factory in Cape Town, offering GWO safety training, drone blade inspection, and predictive maintenance services.
Goldwind entered the African market in 2010, upholding its commitment of "In Africa, For Africa," and has now been operating in South Africa for 16 years. With the advancement of projects such as Ummbila Emoyeni, the company expects its installed capacity in South Africa to exceed 2.2 GW by the second quarter of 2027.
