France will offer a sum of US$135mn to South African state power utility Eskom to help it finance solar power projects in the country
Reuters reported that the deal was signed after a meeting between French President François Hollande and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria.
South Africa has plans to spend US$5bn on clean energy in the coming years in an attempt to decrease reliance on coal-fired power plants, which provide 85 per cent of its electricity.
The government has invested heavily in new coal-fired plants to reduce power constraints that have been a drag on investments and economic growth.
However, Pretoria has also committed to curtail greenhouse gas emissions that rank as the highest on the continent.
It will aim to cut carbon dioxide emissions by a third over the next decade.
