Backing South Africa’s largest solar project

Backing South Africa’s largest solar project

Our investment helped improve economic security and support women’s employment

 

South Africa is the world’s 12th largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, and its coal-dependent power sector has faced significant challenges. Frequent planned power outages, known as load shedding, routinely disrupt daily life and reduce productivity for businesses.

In 2022, we committed $135 million senior debt and $26 million mezzanine financing to help construct South Africa’s first major battery energy storage and photovoltaic solar project, in the Northern Cape Province town of Kenhardt. We stepped in when commercial capital was scarce, and our investment supported H1 Holdings to move the project forward.

Construction began in 2023 and our monitoring revealed a high number of women in the workforce. Women were praised for their quality of work, reliability and contributions to a positive workplace culture. More broadly, their inclusion helped increase local household incomes and shift perceptions of women’s participation in the construction industry.

Kenhardt came online in December 2023. Today, it provides stable, clean electricity for more than 16 hours a day, powering thousands of homes and businesses, thanks to its blend of solar power and battery storage. It avoids 900,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, and strengthens South Africa’s grid reliability. In September 2025, we successfully exited our mezzanine funding through a refinancing led by Standard Bank, enabling us to recycle capital into new investments supporting the transition to net zero.

Investment name: Kenhardt Solar Project
Location: South Africa

Investment type: Growth Portfolio

900,000

tonnes of CO₂ avoided annually

 

1.1GW

battery storage capacity

 

[This] gave me hope that more females will be involved in projects like this one, especially in small, underdeveloped towns like Kenhardt.”

Female Quality Controller

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