As of May 28, the two 75-megawatt projects, developed by SolarReserve, have completed construction and are fully operational and delivering power to the South African electric grid.
The Lesedi and Letsatsi projects, the two largest solar projects in South Africa, have now come on-line.
As of May 28, the two 75-megawatt projects, developed by SolarReserve, have completed construction and are fully operational and delivering power to the South African electric grid.
The two are among the largest project finance transactions ever completed in South Africa and the largest renewable energy projects in continental Africa. They were selected by the South African Department of Energy in the first round of bids under the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (see related story).
Combined, the two projects have an installed capacity of 150 MWs and are capable of powering more than 130,000 South African homes with clean energy.
The projects will be providing power to Eskom, the South African power utility company, under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The projects were developed and financed by a consortium that included Solar Reserve, the Ideas Managed Fund, the Kensani Group, GCL Poly Energy Holdings and Intikon Energy. Rand Mechant Bank, the investment banking arm of FirstRAnd Bank Limited, acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner for the projects’ debt funding requirements. – L. Polintan