Johannesburg-based Pan-African energy company BTE Renewables has acquired Sonnedix Solar SA, which owns a 60% interest in 75MW solar farm, the Prieska Project, in the Northern Cape.
The Prieska Project is on 125 hectares of agriculture land in the Northern Cape and is run through Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska, an independent power producer, which was connected to the national grid six years ago.
With the deal announced yesterday, BTE Renewables now holds the majority stake in the Prieska Project, and this increases its operating portfolio of renewable energy in Africa to 473MW.
BTE Renewables, which is wholly-owned by Actis, has a portfolio of six independent power producers across the continent.
The Prieska Project will complement other BTE projects, namely the Aggeneys 46MWp solar project, Konkoonsies II 86MWp solar, Excelsior 32.5MW wind project and Golden Valley 120MW wind projects implemented under the SA Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement programme, and the 102MW Kipeto wind project in Kenya.
“This acquisition clearly demonstrates our commitment to growing our renewable energy asset portfolio, as it is complementing our organic growth from our strong portfolio of development projects,” says Robert Skjodt, CEO of BTE Renewables.
“The Prieska Project is a natural fit for our two solar PV plants in the same area of South Africa, whilst successfully increasing our operating project portfolio to 473MW. We look forward to working with our new partners, and contributing positively to South Africa’s clean energy production.”
The balance of the Prieska Project’s shareholding (40%) includes: Mulilo Energy Holdings (20%); BEE partner Ixowave (15%) and the Prieska PV Community Trust (5%).
The BTE transaction comes as more businesses announce major projects in the renewable energy sector as a means of easing pressure on the national grid.
South Africa is making steady progress in adding renewable energy sources to the energy mix as some coal plants are reaching their end of life.
The country is also looking to move to cleaner sources of energy.
Power utility Eskom, which heavily relies on coal to supply the majority of the country’s electricity needs, has been struggling to keep the lights on over the years.
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