Three more solar projects for NC

THE NORTHERN Cape is continuing on its path to becoming “the solar capital of the world”, with three more solar energy projects, with a combined capacity of more than 200MW, announced this week.

Vantage GreenX Fund Managers this week announced that through its second renewable energy fund, Vantage GreenX

Note II, it has provided R2.05 billion of funding to a combination of six solar and wind energy projects with a combined capacity of 433MW. Three of the projects are to be constructed in the Northern Cape and form part of Round 4 of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (REIPP) procurement programme.

The GreenX funding was provided to four projects developed by BioTherm Energy and two projects developed by OMLACSA and ACED. All six projects reached financial close during July this year.

The four BioTherm projects include the 86MW Konkoonsies II solar PV project and the the 45MW Aggeneys solar PV project – both in the Northern Cape – as well as the the 120MW Golden Valley wind project (Eastern Cape) and the 32MW Excelsior wind project (Western Cape). The two OMLACSA projects are the 75MW Droogfontein II solar PV project (Northern Cape) and the 75MW Zeerust solar PV project (North West).

Alastair Campbell, managing director of Vantage GreenX, said: “It is with great pleasure that we announce that we have supported these six projects. Each of these projects has strong, experienced sponsors and solid project fundamentals. Together they represent a geographically diverse portfolio of assets. Despite the difficulties experienced by stakeholders in the industry over the last two years, we hope that the conclusion of this round of projects represents a watershed moment for the

South African renewable energy industry and provides forward momentum to the sustainability of the domestic energy sector as a whole.”

Vantage anticipates lending the remaining R1 billion in GreenX Note II before the end of this year.

– Norma Wildenboer