CSP World

The French Development Agency (AFD in French) has agreed to facilitate a €100 million loan to South African utility Eskom for the development of a 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant to be located near Uppington in Northern Cape.

The agreement was signed last monday during a state visit of France's PM Françoise Hollande to South Africa.

AFD is adding support for the plant being co-financed by the African Development Bank, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), the European Investment Bank (EIB), KfW (a public law institution existing under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany) and the World Bank.

Eskom Chief Executive Brian Dames said, “CSP is one of Eskom’s first utility scale projects outside of the existing hydro portfolio and it puts us on a path towards reducing our carbon footprint and investing in a sustainable energy future.”

“The leveraging of finance from institutions like AFD will contribute to the country’s low carbon trajectory and commitment to climate change. The CSP project will pave the way for industrial development and job creation by promoting the localisation of this technology. This further cements our relationship with the AFD and we are delighted to journey with this institution as we deliver on our mandate,” said Ayanda Nakedi, Eskom’s Senior General Manager for Renewables.

Speaking about Eskom’s relationship with the AFD, Eskom’s acting Chief Financial Officer Caroline Henry said: “The AFD is a valued partner and has been a key contributing factor to the progress we’ve achieved at both the Upington CSP plant and Sere wind farm. In total, the AFD has concluded €200 million in credit facility agreements, which has gone towards these two renewable energy projects.”

Eskom's plant will use central receiver -power tower- technology with molten salt as heat transfer fluid and storage medium.