Standard Bank has emerged as the leading investor in the first round of the renewable energy independent power producer (REIPP) procurement process‚ backing a total of 11 wind and solar projects.
Standard Bank said on Wednesday it will provide comprehensive corporate and investment banking services to all its clients‚ including underwriting R9.4-billion worth of debt‚ providing interest and currency hedges‚ carbon trading credits‚ and corporate bonding and guarantee facilities. Standard Bank has also taken an equity stake in four projects.
The Government’s allocation of 1‚416MW for this first round of REIPPPP has translated into about R47-billion of fixed investment‚ of which the majority‚ roughly R27-billion will be funded by debt. Standard Bank’s mandated clients comprise 338MW of wind and 235MW of solar photovoltaic (SPV)‚ out of the combined 1416MW per year expected to be produced by all the projects.
The associated debt funding is a third of the total R27-billion that is being committed by banks in the form of debt and makes Standard Bank the largest funder of the 28 wind and solar power projects awarded in this round.
Winning bidders signed project agreements with the Department of Energy (DoE) on Monday‚ officially starting closing procedures on South Africa’s first large-scale procurement programme which began a year ago. Developers will have until 16 November to finalise all their documentation and foreign currency hedges‚ after which projects can be rolled out. - I-Net Bridge