Renewable-energy companies African Clean Energy Developments (ACED), Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS) Africa and NOA Group Trading report that financial close has been reached and construction has started on the 140 MW Ishwati Emoyeni Wind Farm, with NOA as the offtaker.

The project was led, co-sponsored and developed by ACED, with the African Infrastructure Investment Managers- (AIIM-) managed IDEAS Fund and Reatile Group as shareholders.

The IDEAS Fund is a South African domestic infrastructure equity fund.

Finance institution Standard Bank South Africa acted as lead arranger.

NOA received its trading licence from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa on January 31, enabling the business to buy all the renewable energy generated by the Ishwati Emoyeni Wind Farm.

The Ishwati Emoyeni Wind Farm and the ACED-EIMS-IDEAS-Reatile generation consortium was the first sizeable renewable-energy project to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewable-energy aggregator, NOA.

The Ishwati Emoyeni Wind Farm is a R4.9-billion project which will start generating electricity in 2026.

The project comprises 32 Vestas 4.5 MW wind turbines, and is adjacent to two of the consortium’s other projects of the same size, mnamely, the Umsinde Emoyeni and Khangela Emoyeni wind farms.

ACED will continue to provide construction management services, while EIMS Africa will act as the operations phase management services provider to the project.

“This marks the first large-scale renewables project in South Africa to reach financial close with an energy trader as the offtaker. With NOA Trading, the trading arm of NOA Group, now holding its trading licence, we are authorised to purchase electricity from Ishwati, other third-party independent power producers and NOA’s own generation facilities, aggregate it, and wheel it through the Eskom grid to geographically dispersed offtakers across the South African market,” NOA Group CEO Karel Cornelissen explains.

“We’re delighted to have closed and commenced construction on this complex and pioneering project – the first trader offtake project at scale. It’s the long term PPAs we sign, such as that with NOA here, that bring these projects to life,” ACED CEO James Cumming highlights.

“Reaching financial close on this wind project is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in South Africa. Together with our long-term partners AIIM, ACED and EIMS, we are propelling South Africa towards a sustainable future and energy security,” Reatile Group business development executive Sunette Smith avers.

“Together with our partners, we are proud to be the sole mandated lead arranger to this first-of-a-kind project, presenting a long-term solution and response to the market liberalisation in South Africa.

“NOA is facilitating not wind or solar energy to end-users but rather a profile of green electrons achieved by aggregating multiple generators (wind, solar and battery projects) and providing this to multiple end-users under more flexible arrangements,” Standard Bank project finance, energy and infrastructure finance executive Sherrill Byrne says.