The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved another €100-million (R1.98-billion) loan in support of the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s (DBSA’s) Embedded Generation Investment Programme, which is supporting the development of private solar PV and wind projects in South Africa. The funding will be matched by the DBSA and is additional to the first €400-million (R7.9-billion) matching loan approved by both development finance institutions in 2022, increasing overall funding for the upscaling of small and medium-sized renewable-energy projects to €600-million (R11.9-billion).
Some of Zimbabwe’s biggest miners are seeking $182-million to develop 200 MW of locally-generated solar power, according to the head of the renewables company responsible for the projects. The agreement was signed between Grid Africa and the Intensive Energy User Group, whose members include Impala Platinum’s Zimbabwean unit, Tsingshan Holdings Group’s Afrochine Smelting and RioZim, among others.