EDF now majority stakeholder in upOwa; Financing for Anglo American’s 520 MW RE in SA; Chapel Hill Denham and d.light financing for Nigeria; 800 MW solar plant in SA province; Astra Energy’s 100 MW RE project in Lesotho; InfraCredit backs hybrid solar mini-grids in Nigeria.
Stake sale in upOwa: France’s EDF has become the majority stakeholder in upOwa, a low-cost solar kits supplier in Cameroon. It has completed over 60,000 installations for 300,000 people in rural Cameroon. Paris-based law firm Delsol Avocats, which advised EDF on the transaction, says the French energy giant plans to use its global expertise to help accelerate upOwa’s development and diversify its activities, including innovative solutions for refrigeration, low-carbon cooking and internet access in rural areas.
Project financing in South Africa: Global mining giant Anglo American has announced achieving project financing for 520 MW of renewable energy projects in South Africa. The financing has been raised by Envusa Energy, its joint venture (JV) with EDF Renewables. It will support the development of 2×140 MW Umsobomvu and Hartebeesthoek wind power plants and the 240 MW Mooi Plaats Solar Project. Work on these projects will begin in 2024 and commercial operations in 2026. These facilities will be connected to Eskom’s grid. Anglo America’s local South African businesses, Anglo American Platinum, Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, have all signed up for 20-year offtake agreements for these projects. Anglo American Platinum alone will receive 461 MW of power supply, with 11 MW going to the Kolomela mine and 48 MW to the Venetia mine. Ensuva Energy targets to roll out 3 GW to 5 GW of wind, solar and storage projects by 2030.
Financing facility for Nigeria: Solar home systems (SHS) provider d.light has announced NGN 10 billion ($7.4 million) securitized financing facility for off-grid solar expansion in Nigeria with asset manager Chapel Hill Denham. The financing will be provided by Chapel Hill’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund. It will be used to scale up d.light’s low-cost Pay-Go offering of affordable, solar-powered products. The target audience for this will be low-income households.
800 MW solar in South Africa: The Premier of Gauteng Provincial Government in South Africa Panyaza Lesufi recently announced a solar power plant with at least 800 MW capacity in the province. While delivering his State of the Province address recently, Lesufi said the Sibanye-Stillwater Board has approved the land leases for 6 IPPs to develop the project in Merafong municipality, according to local media reports.
100 MW in Lesotho: US-based renewable energy company Astra Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Lesotho National Development Corporation to develop a 100 MW Clean and Renewable Energy Park. It will be developed as an independent power producer (IPP) project by the company that will own and operate the facility. It does not reveal the technology of the project in Lesotho, an enclave within South Africa. Astra is already following the same business model for its 50 MW Clean and Renewable Energy Park at Kibele Landfill in Zanzibar. The latter comprises 42.5 MW solar and 7.5 MW waste-to-energy capacity.
More credit for RE company: Specialized infrastructure credit guarantee institution InfraCredit has announced credit enhancement of ACOB Lighting Technology Limited, a renewable energy company’s debt issue. It will support the construction, installation and commissioning of 7 isolated hybrid solar mini-grids with a total capacity of 335 kW in 7 communities without grid access within Edo State and Ondo State in Nigeria. InfraCredit says its guarantee is supported by the UK-funded Climate Finance Blending Facility. This is InfraCredit’s 3rd green certified local currency debt issue for solar powered rural infrastructure project in Nigeria. It will electrify up to 3,597 unserved households and small businesses.
