OPIC formalises USD-400m financing for Redstone CSP project in S Africa

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) on Tuesday signed a formal agreement to support SolarReserve’s 100-MW Redstone concentrating solar power (CSP) project in South Africa with USD 400 million (EUR 352.6m) of debt financing.

OPIC approved the financing commitment last month and the official contract was signed yesterday as part of US Secretary of State John Kerry's Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum.

The project was developed by California-based SolarReserve and Saudi co-sponsor ACWA Power. The solar thermal power facility will be built in South Africa’s Northern Cape province and will use a tower configuration, similar to SolarReserve’s 110-MW Crescent Dunes plant in the US state of Nevada.

At the start of the year, the South African Department of Energy (DOE) selected the Redstone project as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme’s (REIPPPP) third round.

According to SolarReserve's CEO Kevin Smith, Redstone's delivered electricity price is the lowest of any CSP project in South Africa to date.

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