Three wind farms in South Africa due to start construction this month

Thebe Investment is proud to be a shareholder in the consortium which have been awarded the contracts for three wind farms in the Northern Cape Province. In October 2013 the consortium led by Mainstream was awarded the contracts by the Department of Energy in South Africa under the third round of its Renewable Energy Procurement Programme.

The wind farms represent an investment of approximately R9 billion and a combined capacity of 360 megawatts are expected to commence construction this month. In 2011 a Mainstream consortium was also awarded 238 megawatts of wind and solar projects in the first round of the South African Government’s Renewable Energy Procurement Programme and all three projects are now in commercial operation.

Barry Lynch, Mainstream’s Managing Director, Onshore Procurement, Construction and Operations said: “Between Rounds 1 and 3 we have been awarded six projects with a combined capacity of nearly 600 megawatts. We are delighted to have recently delivered three wind and solar farms from Round 1 into commercial operation on budget and once again we are working with many of the same debt and equity partners, construction contractors and turbine supplier. Partnerships are very important for us and our success in South Africa is a great example of this.”

Globally, Mainstream continues its wind and solar expansion programme with hundreds of megawatts in construction and operation in Ireland, Chile, Canada, UK and South Africa. The South African wind farms that have reached financial close are the 140MW Khobab Wind Farm located in the District Municipality of Namakwa in the Northern Cape, the 140MW Loeriesfontein 2 Wind Farm located in the District Municipality of Namakwa and the 80MW Noupoort Wind Farm located in the Local Municipality of Umsobomvu in the Northern Cape.

The debt for the projects has been arranged and underwritten by Barclays and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The consortium of Murray & Roberts and Conco has been appointed as construction contractor and Siemens Wind will supply and install the wind turbines. Simmons & Simmons and Bowman & Gilfillan acted as Lenders’ Legal Advisor. Fasken Martineau and Stoel Rives acted as Sponsor Legal Counsel. The equity members of the consortium consist of Mainstream Renewable Power, Actis, Thebe Investment Corporation, the IDEAS Managed Fund, Futuregrowth Asset Management, Genesis Eco-Energy in partnership with Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital and local community members through established community trusts.

“As part of our vision to become a meaningful contributor into the South African energy sector, the conclusion of this deal helps us to realise this as well as strengthening our position in this sector,” says Pieter Kriel, CEO: Thebe Power and Water