Absa funds the first Renewable Energy Projects

Absa funds the first Renewable Energy Projects to reach Financial Close in Bid Window 5 of the South African REIPP Programme

Johannesburg, 14 November 2022–Absa acted as the joint mandated lead arranger and lender for two of EDF  Renewables’ renewable  energy  projects  which  reached  financial  close  on 10 November  2022.The  projects  comprise two 140MW  wind  farms which  will be located in the Northern Cape and developed at a total estimated capital cost of R7.7billion.

These two projects will be the first of three projects by EDF Renewables to reach financial close under the 5th bid window of the South African Renewable Independent Power Producer (REIPP) programme. EDF Renewables’ third  project  under  Bid  Window  5 is expected  to  close  soon, bringing the total project capital cost to an estimated R11.5 billion.

These projects are being developed by EDF Renewables as the lead sponsor together with Gibb Crede Wind  Farm  Investments  and  H1  Holdings. The  total  project size for  the  three  projects combined will be 420MW(3 x 140MW each).The power generated will be supplied to Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

“Absa continues to support the South African renewable energy programme, having now financed over 3.5GW’s of projects since the inception  of  the  programme more  than  a  decade  ago. This transaction strongly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to financing clean energy projects and the acceleration of investments that make a sustainable impact on the communities we serve,” says Shaun Moodley, Principal within Absa’s Resource & Project Finance team.

The  financing  of  projects in  this sector is  in  line  with Absa’s sustainable  finance  goals, which include helping our clients on their journeys to become sustainable and also assisting Eskom with transitioning  from  fossil  fuels  to  renewable  energy  sources,  thereby  significantly  reducing greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa. The REIPP programme is critical in helping Eskom to add renewable power generation capacity to the grid in line with the country’s energy transition objectives and sustainable development goals,” says Moodley.

EDF Renewables is a locally based, fully integrated independent power producer that develops, finances,  builds,  owns  and  operates  commercial  renewable  energy  generation  facilities. It’s a subsidiary  of EDF  Renewables, the  renewable  energy  arm  of  global  utility  EDF,  whose expertise include wind, solar PV, battery storage and hybrid solutions.

The EDF Group is a lead in utility and one of the biggest power producers in the world with a total installed generation capacity of 122 GW .EDF Renewables South Africa has contributed four wind farms to the South African (REIPP) programme already and Absa is privileged to lead these two projects to close, contributing 280MW to the grid.