New Nordex head says South Africa remains key market, despite recent headwinds

Newly appointed Nordex Energy South Africa MD Robert Timmers says that South Africa is poised to be one of the multinational’s largest markets outside of North America and Europe in 2025. This, despite recent public procurement disappointments arising from the country’s well-documented grid constraints and delays in the introduction of new curtailment rules. In an interview with Engineering News, Timmers indicated that the demand gap left by the last two Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPPP) bidding rounds was currently being partially closed for Nordex by two large private projects in the Eastern Cape, with a combined capacity of 631 MW.
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Bate still expects to play role in green transition following IDC departure

Former Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) COO Joanne Bate, who departed the development financier at the end of January, expects to continue to play some role in South Africa’s green energy transition but has not yet taken up any specific new position. Having worked for the IDC in the late 1990s, Bate rejoined the State-owned entity on a five-year contract in February 2020, following a period in the commercial banking sector that included stints with HSBC and Barclays/Absa.
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Africa50 to set up off-grid power, green infrastructure funds

Africa50, a pan-continental infrastructure investor, is setting up the first region-wide investment vehicle dedicated to off-grid power companies and plans a $500-million fund to invest in climate-friendly projects. The new funds at the investor, whose shareholders include the African Development Bank and Morocco’s central bank, come amid a drive by regional governments to boost access to electricity and shield against the impact of adverse weather caused by climate change. The World Bank and AfDB last month convened a conference to give momentum to a program to bring power to 300-million Africans by 2030.
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