Construction of the Kathu Solar Park, situated in the Northern Cape
Province, is expected to begin shortly, Engie said in a statement.
The logo
of French gas and power group Engie is seen at the CRIGEN, the Engie
Group research and operational expertise center, in Saint-Denis near
Paris, France, Saint-Denis, France, February 29, 2016.
French group Engie has signed a 20-year power purchase deal with South Africa's state-owned utility Eskom to connect 100 megawatts (MW) of solar power onto the national grid in 2018 from its Kathu Solar plant.
Eskom,
which provides virtually all of South Africa's power, is facing a
funding crunch as it races to bring new power plants online.
With
year-round sunshine and thousands of miles of windswept coast in South
Africa, investors are warming to the renewable energy potential, with 66
projects completed or underway since the government launched a first
bid round four years ago.
Construction of the
Kathu Solar Park, situated in the Northern Cape Province, is expected to
begin shortly, Engie said in a statement.
Other
investors include South Africa's Investec Bank, state pension fund
Public Investment Corporation, SIOC Community Development Trust and
Lereko Metier.
The project is funded by a mix of
debt and equity. The debt is funded from a club of South African banks,
namely Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank Capital, ABSA Capital, Investec and
the Development Bank of South Africa.
Engie owns
and operates two thermal power peaking plants, the 670 MW Avon plant,
which is under construction, and the 335 MW Dedisa plant that is already
in operation.
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