Enel signs project financing for up to 950 million euros on 700 MW of new wind projects in South Africa

Enel Green Power RSA, the Enel Group’s South African renewables company, signed with senior lenders Nedbank Limited and Absa all project financing agreements for up to 950 million euros, namely up to 80% of the overall investment of around 1.2 billion euros on a portfolio of five new wind projects, totalling roughly 700 MW of capacity. The five facilities, namely Nxuba, Oyster Bay, Garob, Karusa and Soetwater, have a capacity of around 140 MW each. The Enel Group is contributing around 230 million euros in equity in the construction of the five wind farms. Following the signing of the agreements, also known as “financial close”, construction of the first project, Nxuba, is expected to start by the end of 2018.

Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division Enel Green Power, commented: “We have reached an important milestone in South Africa by achieving financial close on five major wind projects which confirm our continuing commitment to the country’s renewables sector, within a context of sustainable development. Enel Green Power will be supporting these processes by generating its emission-free energy in partnership with local shareholders and in cooperation with the local communities, according to our long-term vision of shared value creation.”

The Garob, Karusa and Soetwater projects will be constructed in the Northern Cape province, while the Oyster Bay and the Nxuba wind farms will be built in the Eastern Cape province. The five wind farms were all awarded in round 4 of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Each project is minority-owned by a local partner.

Following the start of construction of Nxuba, construction of Oyster Bay and Garob is expected to start by the first half of 2019 and construction of Soetwater as well as Karusa is expected to start in the second half of the same year. Nxuba is expected to be operational in the second half of 2020, Oyster Bay in the first half of 2021, while Garob, Soetwater and Karusa in the second half of 2021. By 2021, all five new wind farms are due to be up-and-running, bringing Enel Green Power’s total installed capacity in the country to more than 1.2 GW. Once operational, the five projects are expected to produce around 2.6 TWh each year, saving the annual emission of roughly 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.