Kenhardt solar PV & battery storage facility

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The project involves the development of the Kenhardt solar and battery storage project in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). Sponsors of the project are Scatec (51%) and H1 Holdings (49%). Scatec will be the EPC and O&M provider as well as Asset Manager to the power plants. Once operational the project will have a total solar capacity of 540MW and battery storage capacity of 225MW/1,140MWh, and will provide 150MW of dispatchable power under a 20-year PPA with state-owned electricity utility Eskom to the Kenhardt region. The 3 projects, the contracted capacity and the tariffs under the 20-year PPAs are: 50MW Kenhardt 1 - R1,884.54 per Megawatt hour (MWh); 50MW Kenhardt 2 - R1,884.61/MWh; 50MW Kenhardt 3 - R1,884.56/MWh. The total investment value is $959.61 million (ZAR16.4 billion) to be financed by $234.05 million (ZAR4.0 billion) equity from the sponsors and $725.56 million (ZAR12.4 billion) in non-recourse project debt. The debt package is provided by a Standard Bank-led group of lenders using local currency and British International Investment, which provided a $135 million senior debt investment along with an additional $26 million mezzanine financing to H1 Holdings. Standard Bank has acted as the MLA and underwriter and has additionally arranged the ancillary facilities totaling c. $207 million. In addition to being a green loan, Standard Bank acted as the sole derivative and hedge provider, and executed one of the first ESG-linked derivatives in Africa. The Norwegian state-backed export credit agency - Export Finance Norway (EKSFIN), is also issuing a $102 million (NOK1.2 billion) guarantee for the project in partnership with Nordea. Financial close was achieved on 19 July, 2022. Realfin https://scatec.com/2022/07/19/scatec-is-starting-construction-of-solar-and-battery-project-in-south-africa-after-reaching-financial-close/ https://www.eksfin.no/en/news/energy/eksfin-provides-nok-1-2-billion-in-guarantees-in-support-of-major-scatec-project-in-south-africa/ https://www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insight/news/british-international-investment-joins-standard-bank-and-h1-holdings-to-back-scatecs-south-africa-renewable-energy-technology-project/