SOLA Group, a local IPP has reached agreement with local commercial banks and partners to provide finance to start construction on a 132 MWp solar project in the North West province of South Africa.
The project will sell energy to platinum mining operations operated by African Rainbow Minerals through a long-term power purchase agreement using the national grid to deliver the energy to the mining sites.
Eskom is a key partner in facilitating the measurement and reconciliation of energy from the generator to consumer accounts.
The project will generate 270GWh of clean electricity annually and provide much-needed electricity to the national grid. The electricity is generated by converting energy from sunshine into electrical energy and is 100% carbon-free.
The project is owned by SOLA Group and African Rainbow Energy with senior lending from ABSA, Standard Bank, DBSA, and Nedbank. The project is uniquely local in that the financing, ownership, construction, and design are all 100% South African.
This project is the third large-scale renewable energy project closed by SOLA Group in 6 months bringing its total number of MWs under construction to 390MW. This represents 588 000 solar panels over an area of 750 Ha.
For context, according to the CSIR, in terms of energy production in 2022, Eskom load shed 8.3TWh of electricity. The 390 MW of projects will provide nearly 1TWh of energy annually, equivalent to 11% of the country’s shortfall in electricity supply.
“These projects have created 1200 employment opportunities. Apart from providing cheaper, cleaner energy into the network, this project also stimulates local economic development in areas where people have had limited employment opportunities,” says Chris Haw, Executive Director, and co-founder at SOLA Group.
The project has committed to training local employees with valuable skills that will be in high demand given South Africa’s estimated requirement of 6,000MW of new clean power generation annually for the next 10 years. SOLA Group will construct and operate the facility through a joint venture with established South African construction company WBHO.
“This project, together with two other projects currently under construction in the North West, a total of more than 300MWAC, brings R6,4b rands of investments to the province. African Rainbow Energy is now invested in 1 Gigawatt of renewable energy projects.
“As a leading clean energy company this demonstrates our commitment to build a modern privately owned utility using technology to provide clean energy solutions to large customers, supporting the transition of the energy sector, creating more jobs, and changing the lives of South Africans,” says Brian Dames, Chief Executive Officer of African Rainbow Energy.
Advisory work for the project was conducted by Faskens, Pinsent Masons, Peppertree Capital, Barbet Capital, Hebert Smith Freehills (HSF), Verdigris, and Prozesky Consulting.