Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking leverages ecosystem expertise to play a key role in financing the North West project.
With CIB as the joint lead mandate arranger, the project reached a financial close in September 2022. Its 387 000 solar panels now cover 430 hectares in Ditsobotla Local Municipality. The projects’ total investment is close to R4 billion, with debt financing at about R3 billion. CIB committed roughly R827 million to the debt for these 2 solar PV projects, handling the associated interest rate hedges. Developed by the SOLA Group and constructed by Wilson Bayly Holmes WBHO, these projects are among the 1st in South Africa to use wheeling for private offtake agreements.
In this scenario, lower energy costs and greater energy security drive the business’s growth, while ecosystem benefits include a reduced likelihood of load-shedding, the creation of more than 900 employment opportunities during construction, and an important proof point for SA’s rapidly liberalising energy market. Identifying and leveraging these synergistic connections foster sustainable growth.
Nedbank is also closely monitoring the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, passed in March by the National Assembly. This bill aims to create a competitive electricity market and points the way to a distributed model with multiple buyers and generation methods.