South African energy trader Etana Energy has reported that it will purchase all of the renewable electricity generated by two new wind farms being built by global renewables group Acciona Energía for the first 20 years of operation.

The Zen (100 MW) and Bergrivier (94 MW) windfarms, with a combined export capacity of 190 MW, are located between Gouda and Saron in the Western Cape and are expected to produce about 580 GWh/y of renewable electricity.

The low carbon energy will be supplied to Etana’s customers, including Growthpoint, the V&A Waterfront, Tharisa Minerals, Petra Diamonds and Autocast.

The wind farms will be owned by Acciona Energía (51%) and a joint venture between H1 Capital and Chariot Limited (49%).

Etana said in a media release that financial close was achieved on December 12.

Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with commissioning is scheduled for mid-2027.

Etana says electricity supplied through these projects will displace about 600 000 t/y of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to removing more than 225 000 internal combustion engine vehicles from the road.

"These wind projects are another key piece of the puzzle for Etana to provide businesses with renewable energy to cover a high percentage of their total electricity needs,” comments Etana CEO Evan Rice.

Rice says this brings Etana’s generation portfolio to about 300 MW of wind and solar projects under construction, alongside the operational Boston Hydro facility, all with fully contracted customer offtake.

“We are seeing strong and growing interest from South African businesses in cost-competitive clean power and the contractual flexibility of Etana’s offerings.

“A significant portion of our next phase of wind and solar projects is already committed to our growing portfolio of customers, and our focus is now on taking these projects into construction in the coming months,” he says.