The construction of the project is set to be financed by Standard Bank of South Africa, a key financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa that is actively involved in financing green energy transition projects.
The PPA signing was witnessed by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, and Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry for the Republic of South Africa.
The 85MW solar PV power plant will be located in the North West Province in South Africa, and is expected to achieve financial close and commence construction during the third quarter of 2023. The solar plant will start delivering power into the national grid in early 2025 and will generate around 220GWh of clean energy per year.
AMEA Power, GreenCo and Standard Bank have also entered into a cooperation agreement that seeks to develop a fast-track model to stimulate the onboarding of renewable energy generation in South Africa; a significant outcome that will help mitigate the current electricity crisis affecting businesses, households, and the economy as a whole.
Hussain Al Nowais, Chairman of AMEA Power, said, “The widespread electricity shortages in South Africa are impacting people’s everyday lives and crippling businesses. As part of AMEA Power’s goal to deliver clean energy across Africa, the Company is on track to deliver several large renewable energy projects in South Africa over the coming few years.
“As part of our long-term commitment to South Africa, AMEA Power will invest in different clean energy solutions, establish strategic partnerships with local companies and has opened a new regional hub, which will help us accelerate our activities.”
Ana Hajduka, Chief Executive Office of GreenCo, said, “The signing of this PPA marks a tremendous shift towards the sustainable development of the national and regional power markets. GreenCo and AMEA Power have within a few months made immense strides and paved the way for an efficiently structured project development and offtake model to be rolled out in South Africa.
"In addition, GreenCo is very confident in the future of energy markets knowing that institutions like Standard Bank are supporting innovative approaches such as ours.”
As part of its long-term planning to reduce its carbon emissions and provide greater energy stability across its electricity network, South Africa aims to increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix from 11% to 41% by 2030. The country also plans to decommission between 8GW and 12GW of coal fired power plants over the next decade.
To support its growth in South Africa, AMEA Power has opened a new regional hub in Johannesburg, which will initially accommodate around 10 full-time members of staff. The employees which will be recruited from South Africa, will focus primarily on business development and project execution across the country.
In late 2022, AMEA Power was awarded a 120MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in South Africa as part of the Sixth Bid Submission Phase of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Program. The Doornhoek PV Project will sell electricity to the state utility, Eskom, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The Doornhoek PV solar project, which is located near the town of Klerksdorp in the North West Province, will generate more than 325GWh of clean energy per year and power around 25,000 households. In total, the project is expected to offset 290,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
AMEA Power has also secured a number of sites suitable for the development of a further 1GW of renewable energy projects in South Africa, which the Company will bid into future REIPPP Programs, and provision for private sector consumers. The Company is also exploring opportunities with a number of commercial and industrial entities across South Africa to provide them with access to renewable energy.
