Prescient Investment Management has concluded a deal that will see its Clean Energy Fund provide R220m to H1 Holdings.
The money will be used by H1 Holdings, a black-owned and managed company founded in 2000 that invests in clean energy projects, to fund an investment in three Grootfontein solar PV farms, each producing 75MW of power, which are located in Touws River in the Western Cape.
The projects were awarded as part of the fifth bidding round of the department of mineral resources and energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), to deliver renewable energy as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement. On completion, the projects are expected to deliver clean power to about 100,000 households in surrounding communities, thereby reducing an estimated 630,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
“H1 Holdings’ goals align with our focus with respect to giving investors access to ESG-centric products and supporting renewable energy generation that will alleviate the energy crisis weighing heavily on SA’s economy,” said Luzuko Nomjana, a portfolio manager at Prescient.
“These solar farms will also contribute to the country’s development by creating employment for previously disadvantaged people in the surrounding communities and uplifting them through other socioeconomic initiatives.”
Construction of the solar farms is expected to take between 12 and 18 months with the expectation that they will begin delivering power in 2025.
The Prescient Clean Energy Fund, launched in September 2015, has invested in 31 renewable energy projects so far worth a combined R3.7bn. It has contributed towards an addition of 2.3GW of clean energy to the national grid while creating 1,343 jobs.
“The fund is a vehicle for investors to access projects that are not readily available to them and provides them with long-term, stable, real returns,” said Nomjana. “In addition to attractive real returns, the fund offers investors an opportunity to make a proactive, significant and lasting contribution to developing the SA economy.”
H1 Holdings holds a 46.5% equity participation in the Grootfontein solar PV farm projects. Other shareholders in the project include Scatec Solar, with a 51% stake, and Community Trust, which has a 2.5% holding.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.