Wind power plant in Western Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -32.834, 18.0061.
WindWestern CapeSouth AfricaOnshore
West Coast 1 is a 94 MW wind power plant in Western Cape, South Africa. It is operated by ENGIE (43%) Investec Bank Limited (34.5%) and KTH (20%). Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 80k homes (estimated). It ranks #82 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 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 WRI1026023.
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 L100000900005); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 94 MW, West Coast 1 is around 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 ENGIE (43%) Investec Bank Limited (34.5%) and KTH (20%).
This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 32.8°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 75% 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: 22/100 — 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 a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with dust abrasion 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 #12 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 -32.834, 18.0061 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
West Coast 1 is a 94 MW source-record wind power plant in Western Cape, South Africa, commissioned in 2015.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 79,991 homes (estimated).
West Coast 1 is operated by ENGIE (43%) Investec Bank Limited (34.5%) and KTH (20%).
