South Africa's First Offshore Wind Farm Stalls as World Bank Flags 95 GW Potential

South Africa's first proposed offshore wind farm has hit a delay, with the environmental impact assessment for the 800 megawatt Gagasi project off Richards Bay stalled pending new technical information from its developers.

The consultancy appointed to conduct the assessment, Acer (Africa) Environmental Consultants, confirmed that the environmental authorisation application was withdrawn last year. Its managing director, Dieter Heinsohn, said the withdrawal was to allow a redesign from floating to anchored wind turbines, describing the reason as technical rather than environmental. Acer added that it was unsure of the project's current status.

The Gagasi project was launched in 2022 by GenesisHexicon, a joint venture between Sweden's Hexicon and South Africa's Genesis Eco-Energy Developments. Hexicon did not respond to requests for comment, while Genesis Eco-Energy said it would provide a project update next month.

The delay comes as the World Bank released its South African offshore wind development framework study this week. The study estimates that the country has potential for approximately 95 gigawatts of offshore wind across selected coastal areas, mainly for floating offshore technologies.

According to the World Bank, large-scale offshore wind development could contribute $6.7 billion in employment wages to the domestic economy by 2050 and help cut harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants. Over the next 25 years, it said, offshore wind could reduce South Africa's electricity generation emissions by 530 million tons of CO2, supporting the continent's climate goals and positioning the country as a leader in clean energy deployment.