OPIC Board Approves $250 Million for 60MW Solar Power Project in South Africa
September 17, 2012
(OPIC)
Will displace 140,000 tons of GHG emissions in
first year alone; supports country’s Black
Economic Empowerment Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Board of Directors of
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development
finance institution, approved up to $250
million for the agency’s first solar power
project in South Africa, a 60-megawatt plant
that will help diversify the country’s
electricity generation beyond its heavy coal
concentration and in the process displace
approximately 140,000 tons of greenhouse gas
emissions in its first year alone.
The project came about in response to the new
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer
Program (REIPP), a South African government
initiative that aims to increase investment in
renewable energy production, especially solar
power, with a goal of having 3725MW online by
2016. By involving two local firms as
co-sponsors along with its U.S. investors, the
project will also help South Africa meet the
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) objectives of
the program.
The OPIC financing will enable two U.S.
companies, MEMC Electronic Materials and its
subsidiary SunEdison, to construct and operate
a solar photovoltaic plant in Boshoff in South
Africa’s Free State province. All electricity
generated by the plant will be sold to the
national grid through a power-purchase
agreement.
Coal-fired plants currently produce 84 percent
of South Africa’s electrical generation
capacity. SunEdison estimates that in the first
year alone approximately 140,000 tons of
greenhouse gas emissions will be displaced
because of the project.
“South Africa’s ambitious and impressive
renewable energy program has established the
country as a leader in the field,” said OPIC
President Elizabeth Littlefield. “We’re pleased
to work with an experienced developer such
SunEdison to deliver so many developmental
benefits for South Africa, from the reduction
of pollution and displacement of GHG emissions
to the creation of local jobs and the
realization of the country’s BEE program
goals.”
MEMC, based in St. Peters, Missouri, is a major
global manufacturer of PV wafers and related
products for the semiconductor and solar
industries. Through its SunEdison subsidiary
acquired in 2009, MEMC is also a developer of
solar power projects and is a leading solar
energy services provider.
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