Wind power plant in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -33.963, 25.2422.
WindEastern CapeSouth AfricaOnshore
Van Stadens is a 27 MW wind power plant in Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is operated by MetroWind. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 23k homes (estimated). It ranks #118 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2014, it is around 12 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, wind supplies about 4.7% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061294.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000900050); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 27 MW, Van Stadens is below the median wind plant in South Africa (94 MW). Technically it is described as Onshore. Wind turbines convert moving air into electricity; output is variable and site-dependent, and modern turbines deliver some of the lowest-cost new generation on many grids.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by MetroWind.
This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 34.0°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 78% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 21/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #21 largest wind power plant of 24 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 24 wind power plants in this dataset, together about 2,029 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -33.963, 25.2422 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Van Stadens is a 27 MW source-record wind power plant in Eastern Cape, South Africa, commissioned in 2014.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 22,976 homes (estimated).
Van Stadens is operated by MetroWind.
