Standard Bank backs S Africa renewables projects with USD 1.1bn of debt

Nov 7, 2012 - South Africa's Standard Bank today said it had committed ZAR 9.4 billion (USD 1.1bn/EUR 852m) of debt funding to back 11 of the 28 winning projects in the country's first renewables bidding round.

Under its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPP), South Africa aims to install 3,725 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2016. The first bidding window saw the allocation of 1,416 MW across 28 projects. Standard Bank is supporting five wind schemes totalling 338 MW and six solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a combined capacity of 235 MW. It has also taken an equity stake in four projects.

The first-round projects represent a fixed investment of about ZAR 47 billion, of which ZAR 27 billion is to be funding by debt, the statement says. Accounting for a third of the overall debt financing, Standard Bank is the largest funder in the initial renewables round, the bank said.

The winning bidders inked project agreements with the South African Department of Energy on November 5 and have until November 16 to finalise all documents and foreign currency hedges. After that, the projects can be launched.

Standard Bank also said it had committed ZAR 6.1 billion to preferred bidders in the second bidding round, where debt totals ZAR 19 billion. Nineteen projects were selected under that round, of which the bank has backed five.

(ZAR 1.0 = USD 0.116/EUR 0.091)

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