Standard Bank has closed a R1,92 billion equity financing solution enabling H1 Holdings to consolidate its 49% interest in the Kenhardt hybrid renewable cluster. The facility is Africa’s largest hybrid solar and battery energy storage project and among the biggest globally, Standard Bank says.
The financing package, structured by Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking, enables the exit of investors British International Investment, the Industrial Development Corporation and Norfund.
H1 Holdings controls a broad infrastructure portfolio exceeding 2,8 GW of generation and 1,14 GWh of storage capacity across 24 projects.
According to Calvin Alwar, Deal Lead: Structured Capital at Standard Bank, hybrid systems integrate multiple energy sources to compensate for the variability of each, presenting not only the environmental benefit of lowering carbon emissions but also reducing the risk of outages as energy is produced through more than one source. “They do, however, require advanced control systems to manage different inputs, which are contributing factors to the cost of these projects. The transaction required a fundamental shift in how renewable energy equity-finance deals are structured, particularly given the high gearing levels and the limited window of bankability,” he says.
