A 620 MW solar project to be built in South Africa's Free State has reached financial close. This milestone follows the signing of over 20 years of multi-offtaker wheeling agreements with commercial and industrial customers.
south african independent power producer anthem has announced financial closure on its Notsi Solar PV Project located in South AfricaIndependent state of.
With a planned capacity of 620 MW (475 MWh), it is considered to be the largest solar project in the country to date.
The Notsi project is set to cover an area of more than 1,000 hectares and feature more than 860,000 solar panels. Once operational, it will generate approximately 1.5 TWh annually. A statement published by Anthem said it will supply energy to commercial and industrial sectors on the national grid for more than 20 years through a multi-offtaker wheeling model with financial services provider Discovery Ltd and green energy supplier NOA.
Anthem's Chief Commercial Officer, Mike Wickins, commented, “By supplying renewable energy to corporate and commercial offtakers, the Notsi project supports the growing aggregator market, enabling corporate decarbonization and supporting South Africa's transition to lower-carbon, more sustainable energy consumption.”
The NotC project is being debt financed by a consortium including Standard Bank Group, Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, Absa Group, Vantage Capital and Third Way Investment Partners.
Anthem is responsible for all asset management in construction and operation and will take over operation and maintenance responsibilities from the third year of operation. A joint venture company belonging to two Chinese developers, China Energy Engineering Corporation and Northwest Electric Power Design Institute, has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract.
According to details on its website, Anthem has an asset portfolio of more than 2 GW, including more than 1 GW of assets distributed through South Africa. Renewable Purchase Programand an additional project pipeline of over 11 GW.
Last month, South African independent power producer SOLA Group Financial close reached On its Naos‑1 hybrid solar-plus-storage project, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, it aims to provide wheeling power to private end-users across the grid.
South Africa's cumulative solar capacity now exceeds 10 GW after deployment 1.6 GW Last year.
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