ABSA, Barclays arrange financing for 238 MW of green projects in S Africa

Nov 13, 2012 - British power company Globeleq Generation Ltd said Tuesday it had signed financing agreement with a syndicate of lenders lead by South Africa's ABSA and UK's Barclays (LON:BARC) for 238 MW of renewable power projects in South Africa.

The total investment in the three projects is estimated to exceed EUR 500 million (USD 634.3m).

The syndicate of lenders includes the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and local institutional investors. Part of the funding for the projects will be provided by Globeleq and its partners in a consortium that includes Ireland-based Mainstream Renewable Power, South African Thebe Investment Corp, local engineering firms Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering and local community trusts. The consortium's investment will come in the form of equity, while DBSA will provide support for the Black Empowerment shareholders of the projects and the community trusts.

Construction on the 138-MW Jeffreys Bay wind farm on the Eastern Cape, the 50-MW photovoltaic (PV) solar farm in De Aar and the 50-MW solar project in Droogfontein, both in the Northern Cape, will begin soon and commissioning is expected by mid 2014. The three projects are being developed under the South African government's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (IPP).

(EUR 1 = USD 1.269)

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