The African corporate banking unit of Barclays has agreed to fund almost one-third of the US$3.3bn clean energy projects in South Africa
According to Bloomberg, Absa Corporate Investment Banking will provide US$1bn of debt funding for six of the 17 clean energy projects recently announced by the South African government.
Absa Corporate Investment Banking spokesperson Graeme Coetzee said this includes a 360MW onshore wind farm, a 200MW solar power plant and a 75MW solar photovoltaic project.
Earlier this year, the South African government said the country planned to generate 3,725MW of clean energy by the end of 2016, which would reduce its dependence on coal and could help utility body Eskom meet increasing consumer demand.
About 1,500MW of projects in the area of wind, solar photovoltaic, landfill gas and biomass have been awarded to companies including Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power and Spain’s Abengoa.
Winning bidders are expected to sign agreements with the South African Department of Energy shortly, the news agency reported.
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