South Africa’s First Offshore Wind Farm Delayed as World Bank Highlights Major Potential

The 800 MW Gagasi project has stalled during a redesign, while a World Bank study estimates approximately 95 GW of offshore wind potential for South Africa.

By Ukumbi Afrika17 September 2026 · 2 min read

Offshore wind turbines standing above the sea with waves in the foreground.

Cape Town — South Africa’s first proposed offshore wind farm has been delayed, even as a new World Bank study highlights the country’s significant potential to develop offshore wind as part of its transition to cleaner energy.

The 800-megawatt Gagasi offshore wind project, planned off the coast of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, was launched in 2022 by GenesisHexicon, a joint venture between Sweden’s Hexicon and South Africa’s Genesis Eco-Energy Developments.

The environmental impact assessment for the project has stalled after developers withdrew their environmental authorisation application last year to redesign the project.

Acer (Africa) Environmental Consultants, which was appointed to conduct the environmental assessment, said the application was withdrawn for technical rather than environmental reasons.

“The application was withdrawn to redesign from floating to anchored wind turbines,” Acer Managing Director Dieter Heinsohn told Reuters.

Acer said it was uncertain about the current status of the project. Hexicon did not respond to requests for comment, while Genesis Eco-Energy said it would provide an update next month.

World Bank sees 95 GW potential

The delay comes as the World Bank this week published a framework study on South Africa’s offshore wind sector, estimating that the country could have approximately 95 gigawatts of offshore wind potential across selected coastal areas.

Much of that potential is suited to floating offshore wind technology, which allows turbines to be installed in deeper waters farther from the coastline.

The World Bank estimates that large-scale offshore wind development could generate approximately $6.7 billion in employment wages for South Africa’s domestic economy by 2050.

It also says offshore wind could play a significant role in reducing the country’s dependence on emissions-intensive coal-fired electricity generation.

According to the World Bank, offshore wind development over the next 25 years could potentially reduce South Africa’s electricity-generation emissions by around 530 million tonnes of CO₂.

Source: Reuters
Reporting by: Wendell Roelf
Editing by: Ronojoy Mazumdar

Why it matters

South Africa's offshore wind ambitions come as the country seeks to diversify its electricity system beyond coal while attracting investment into renewable energy and new industrial value chains. The Gagasi delay highlights the technical and development challenges involved in establishing a new offshore wind industry. At the same time, the World Bank's assessment points to a potentially large economic opportunity through renewable power generation, infrastructure investment, employment and emissions reduction. For South Africa, the challenge will be converting the country's estimated offshore wind resource into commercially viable projects while resolving technical, regulatory and infrastructure requirements.

Filed under

Business & Economy · Southern Africa · News · Energy · Environment

Published

17 September 2026