All needed funds have been secured for the construction of 200 MW of solar plants that will supply electricity to titanium products maker Tronox Mineral Sands in South Africa.
The financial close on the two projects was achieved less than six months after the power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed. With all funds in place, construction works are due to be launched, South African solar power producer Sola Group said on Monday.
The ZAR 4 billion (USD 230.5m/EUR 230.5m) of funding required for the development and construction of the solar schemes was obtained by Sola and renewable energy solutions provider African Rainbow Energy. South Africa’s Absa, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Nedbank and Standard Bank participated in the debt funding round.
Tronox Minerals, part of US-based Tronox Holdings (NYSE:TROX), will receive electricity under wheeling arrangements under which state-owned utility Eskom will pay for the maintenance and upkeep of infrastructure to transmit the electricity. Around 540 GWh of power will be procured for five of Tronox’s mines and smelters in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
The solar parks will be equipped with 387,000 PV panels mounted on single-axis trackers.
(ZAR 10 = USD 0.576/EUR 0.576)
Source: renewablesnow
