South Africa’s largest standalone battery storage project advances to financial close

Africa’s largest standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) project, the 153 MW/ 612 MWh Red Sands project in the Northern Cape, has reached financial close, having raised some R5.4-billion in debt financing from Absa and Standard Bank. The project was selected as a preferred bidder in 2024 following the first BESS public procurement bidding round, and is being developed by Globeleq in partnership with African Rainbow Energy.