There is plenty of reason to celebrate as Red Rocket turns 4 this year. Since launching and taking to the skies in 2020, we have been rooted in our objective to provide energy solutions for Africa, and have followed this with results in the form of our groundbreaking projects that have made our company what it is today.
A big part of these accomplishments come from our successful participation in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), which has allowed us to build a project portfolio that has established us as a true force of nature and the most successful IPP in the country’s energy landscape.
Having been successful in each bid round of the REIPPPP, along with our momentum in the growing C&I sector, Red Rocket is at the forefront of providing clean energy to support South Africa’s energy needs, with 2900MW of projects in operation, under construction and awarded preferred bidder, and about to reach financial close. Our solar, wind and hydro projects affirm our place in the highly competitive renewable energy market.
Coming into commercial operations in 2021 and 2022 respectively, our 4MW Kruisvallei Hydro Plant and our 147MW Roggeveld Wind farm saw construction through the Covid-19 pandemic, halting building activities at Roggeveld temporarily in adherence to the restrictions. Today, the projects take centre stage, delivering crucial energy to the South African grid. Kruisvallei provides power to approximately 1916 households yearly, while Roggeveld Wind Farm makes a difference to approximately 49 200 households.
Our three Round 5 projects, Wolf (85MW), Brandvalley and Rietkloof (both with a nameplate capacity of 144MW) wind farms, brought an unprecedented victory for our company. The win was highly regarded as the largest win by an African IPP, which was followed by the projects reaching financial close and opening the way for construction in 2023. That year saw Red Rocket reach financial close for Witberg Wind Farm, the largest private wind farm to date, with a private off-taker.
During Round 6, Red Rocket won the lion’s share of projects in the bid window, beating large companies to secure 440MW of solar projects – Virginia Solar Park with a contracted capacity of 240MW and Good Hope Solar Park with a capacity of 200MW.
At the time, Red Rocket CEO, Matteo Brambilla, said: “We are proud of this bid window win. This is a historic REIPPPP round with Red Rocket securing most of it. We have a consistent record of winning projects in the REIPPP bidding process from rounds one through to six, certainly a powerful track record of bid, close and build to support SA’s energy crisis with the cheapest tariffs achievable.”
With a nameplate capacity of 275MW, Virginia Solar Park is set to be the largest grid-connected solar farm after reaching financial close in April 2024, bringing our projects under construction to 750MW. Read more in “Media Releases”.
