African Development Bank sanctions $220 Million Loan for a Solar Project in South Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it has approved a higher loan of ZAR 3 billion ($220.3 million) to the 100 MW Redstone concentrated solar power project. The project is located in the Humansrus Solar Park, in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa and is expected to generate 466 GWh/year. Currently, practically 82 percent of South Africa’s electricity is generated from coal and this project will help reduce the harmful emissions.

“There is no other country – that has made bold efforts at promoting solar power – apart from South Africa and Morocco. Of the countries currently using coal, South Africa is one of the few with an aggressive strategy towards developing a solar-based power. At the heart of this transition to a low-carbon energy sector is a complete transformation of the future energy mix”, said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank in a media statement.

The project is one of the 27 renewable independent power producer projects in South Africa. It is estimated to create over 3,500 jobs over its project life cycle after its commissioning. This solar power project can meet peak electricity demand in the absence of sun as it will have a 12-hour molten salt thermal energy storage system.

The project is associated with the bank’s plan to finance clean renewable energy projects, increase access to energy, and reduce reliance on carbon intensive power generation.

“The development of this concentrated solar power project will provide green baseload energy and contribute to a further diversification of South Africa’s energy mix, which is fundamental to South Africa’s strategic vision of transitioning to green growth”, said Amadou Hott, the AfDB Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth.