Globeleq wraps up USD-65m refinancing for S African solar park

Africa-focused independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq said today it has finalised a senior debt restructuring deal for its majority-owned 31-MW Soutpan solar park in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.

The USD-71-million (EUR 65.1m) transaction was led by Balngladesh-based commercial lender Standard Bank Ltd, alongside the project’s original lender, Vantage Green X Fund RF Pty Ltd. The lower cost of debt will significantly reduce the wholesale electricity prices for the solar farm’s generation and will release additional funds for investments in the power sector, Globeleq explained.

The deal is Globeleq’s fourth refinancing of renewable assets under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) Refinancing Protocol. In June 2020, the IPPO asked owners of projects contracted under Rounds 1-3.5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement programme to consider participating in a voluntary refinancing scheme so as to enhance the projects’ capital structures and reduce the tariff to national utility Eskom.

Globeleq estimates that Soutpan’s refinancing will result in more than ZAR 160 million (USD 9.3m/EUR 8.5m) in savings for Eskom over the remaining 10-year term of its power purchase agreement (PPA).

Globeleq acquired a majority ownership stake in the Soutpan project in 2019. The plant has been producing electricity since 2014.

“The restructuring of the finance on this project is indicative of a market that has matured [..],” said Vantage GreenX’s managing director, Alastair Campbell.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.917)

(ZAR 10 = USD 0.583/EUR 0.534)

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