South Africa’s latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025), a R2.23-trillion programme aiming to cut the nation’s dependence on coal roughly in half and add more than 100 GW of clean energy by 2039, signals a raft of investment opportunities in the renewable energy space.

However, despite this “green gold rush”, the reality is that launching a renewable energy project in South Africa requires more than land, approvals and technical plans. It demands machinery, skilled teams, and funding that can move faster than bureaucracy. The key is to cut through financial red tape and enable work to get underway rather than waiting for long administrative delays.

Industry experts caution that a critical funding gap threatens to slow these projects at the outset. Specialist investment and insurance company Fedgroup’s Head of Structuring and Lending Greg Goeller comments, “The renewable energy space is an exciting one, but all too often projects become hamstrung by a lack of properly structured asset-backed funding required to keep site preparation on schedule. It is a practical demonstration of what can happen when finance is structured for the realities of construction, not the conventions of corporate lending.”

Real-world financing

Goeller said a recent project that Fedgroup partnered on with Quip Investments faced challenges when preparing sites for wind and solar projects in the Western and Northern Cape, before they partnered with Fedgroup, which provided R33.8-million in funding.

Quip Investments, through its operating arm Onsite Tool Hire, handles the essential groundwork that precedes every wind or solar installation. Work teams clear vegetation, level terrain, and prepare platforms so that major contractors such as Concor, WBHO and Power Construction can mobilise efficiently. These operations, concentrated in the Western and Northern Cape, are essential steps in the project timeline for renewable developments in the region.

Goeller explains, “Despite its importance, site-preparation work is often overlooked by traditional lenders, who prefer headline assets such as turbines or solar panels. We recognised the operational significance of this stage and provided funding structured around the real-world requirements of our partner.” The financing covered both heavy equipment and depot infrastructure. These depots allow teams to maintain and deploy machinery effectively, translating capital directly into operational capacity.

Fedgroup designs its funding around four core pillars that ensure capital translates directly into operational impact.

Deep asset specialisation. Finance is structured to align with the life of equipment, including tipper trucks, rollers and graders, while property funding establishes depots close to remote project sites. Equipment and infrastructure are matched to operational needs rather than standard financial templates.

Relationship-driven engagement. The deal originated through original equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment’s network and advanced quickly once due diligence confirmed Quip’s contracts, pipeline and capacity. Fedgroup gives them access to senior decision-makers. This direct access means discussions are focused on operational requirements rather than procedural formalities, speeding up approvals and building trust.

Solution-oriented structuring. Deal structures are custom-built around a business’s actual requirements, rather than forcing them into a predefined product. Financing fits the asset’s cashflow-profile and business objective and offers flexible options that evolve with the asset’s life cycle.

Execution excellence. Capital is translated quickly into capability. Equipment and depots were deployed where they could make the most impact, enabling multiple sites to run concurrently and supporting earlier handovers across projects.

Fedgroup’s broader portfolio spans projects from small multi-million-rand facilities to funding exceeding a billion rand. This demonstrates the ability to support businesses of all sizes, across selected underserved sectors, while applying a disciplined, asset-focused approach.

Impact and outcomes

Since funding was deployed, Quip has expanded its fleet, commissioned regional depots, and improved operational throughput. Reduced travel distances, faster maintenance cycles, and higher equipment uptime have also allowed teams to maintain schedules across multiple remote sites.

By focusing on the operators who enable projects to move, Fedgroup ensures that infrastructure development progresses efficiently, reliably and sustainably, without unnecessary delays at the earliest and most critical stages.