Pretoria - France will lend 100 million euros ($135 million) to South African state power utility Eskom to help it finance solar power projects in Africa's largest economy, according to a communique obtained by Reuters on Monday.
The deal will be signed as a part of a summit between French President François Hollande and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, which started on Monday in Pretoria.
No further details were provided.
South Africa plans to spend $5 billion on clean energy in the coming years as it tries to decrease reliance on coal-fired power plants, which provide 85 percent of its electricity.
The government has invested heavily in new, coal-fired plants to reduce power constraints that have been a drag on investment and economic growth.
However, Pretoria has also committed to curtail greenhouse gas emissions that rank as the highest on the continent.
It wants to cut carbon dioxide emissions by a third over the next decade but has little flexibility to make fast changes because big employers are among the top emitters.
South Africa is also a major producer and exporter of coal. - Reuters