UK Climate Investments, has financed a total of 254MW of clean energy projects in South Africa. The milestone was reached following the inauguration of Kruisvallei Hydro, a 4MW run-of-river hydropower facility in the Free State province. Kruisvallei Hydro is the last of three renewable energy projects part-financed by UK Climate Investments. The other two renewable projects include the 110MW Perdekraal East Wind Farm in the Western Cape province and the 140MW Kangnas Wind Farm in the Northern Cape province in October and November last year. In addition to supporting South Africa’s low carbon transition by providing enough clean electricity to power nearly 200,000 homes per year, these projects have delivered opportunities for employment, skills development, and investment in rural communities across the region. In order to realise the projects, UK Climate Investments’ R253 million ($17 million) partnered with the majority black-owned and managed developer of renewable energy projects H1 Holdings. The partnership has created around 385 jobs during construction phase and is expected to provide a further 195 jobs over the projects’ 20-year lifecycle.
UK is committed to supporting green, resilient and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and I am delighted that this innovative UK programme, run through UK Climate Investments and Macquarie, has supported job creation, localization and black ownership in this sector. Much needed funding is required to transform South Africa’s energy mix and promote cleaner, greener energy systems. The three projects will help avoid approximately 844,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum over their lifetime, which is equivalent to taking 182,000 cars off the road for a year. In addition to supporting South Africa’s low carbon transition, each project has also committed a percentage of its annual revenue to community initiatives supporting education, housing and sustainable enterprise development in surrounding areas.