CDC Group, the UK government's development finance institution, is investing $50 million in the Redstone Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in South Africa. The plant will feed 100 MW into the grid of the state-owned utility Eskom.
CDC Group is coming to South Africa to announce a direct investment in a sustainable development project. The British government’s financial institution is providing $50 million for the construction of the Redstone Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant. The project is being developed by Saudi Arabian company Acwa Power. The independent power producer (IPP) was awarded the concession under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP), which was set up by the South African government to attract private investment.
Acwa Power is developing the project in consortium with Central Energy Fund and Pele Green Energy. The CSP is being built in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, where a large number of clean energy projects are already concentrated. The solar thermodynamic plant will have a capacity of 100 MW. The project will provide 200,000 South African households with clean, reliable energy and help offset approximately 480,000 tonnes of carbon per year, equivalent to the per capita emissions of 67,000 South Africans,” says CDC Group.
The CSP will also have a two-tank direct molten salt storage system that will provide 12 hours of energy storage at full load, or 1 200 MWh of equivalent power generation, eliminating the need for backup fuel. Acwa Power plans to bring its CSP into commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the financial institution led by Nick O’Donohoe, the $50 million investment marks the return of CDC Group to the South African market.
In addition to CDC Group, the Redstone PSC, which will require an investment of $828.4 million, is also being financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Absa Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Nedbank, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Investec Bank and Sanlam Life Insurance.
