Innovative financial instruments have an important role to play in helping to unlock and accelerate capital for South Africa’s energy transition and support economic recovery.
Standard Bank and renewable energy aggregator NOA have reached financial close on the 349MW Khauta South Solar PV project, a flagship renewable energy development that introduces a pioneering financial structure to unlock capital for South Africa’s energy transition.
Located near Welkom in the Free State, the project will become the country’s largest single-asset solar PV facility once constructed. Khauta South forms part of a larger 506MW complex, alongside Khauta West (157MW), positioning the Free State as a strategic hub for utility-scale renewable energy projects. Once operational the joint Khauta projects will generate 1,073 GWh of clean energy per year.
“We are committed to the just energy transition of South Africa and Africa. This groundbreaking project is in keeping with our ambition. We are proud to partner with NOA as a recognised pioneer in a burgeoning sector that will drive sustainable growth,” says Standard Bank’s energy and infrastructure finance executive Nicholas Knott-Craig.
The deal also introduces an innovative market-forming Payment Guarantee Facility structured by Standard Bank on behalf of NOA Trading. This facility acts as a financial catalyst, enabling NOA to free up equity capital that would typically be utilised as credit support. By unlocking this capital, NOA can accelerate the development of additional renewable energy projects, while maintaining its commitments under Generator Power Purchase Agreements (GPPAs).
“This is more than just a project milestone — it’s an evolution in how we finance renewable energy at scale in South Africa,” said Karel Cornelissen, CEO of NOA. “The guarantee facility enables us to deploy equity more efficiently, ensuring the rapid rollout of projects while supporting liquidity across our development pipeline. It also strengthens our position as a credible aggregator in energy supply agreements with commercial and industrial off-takers.”
Power from the Khauta project will be wheeled via the Eskom grid to a portfolio of companies across sectors including mining, manufacturing, data centres, and real estate. Among the confirmed off-takers is Redefine Properties, which will use the green energy to help decarbonise its property portfolio and reduce exposure to rising energy costs.
The transaction reflects a broader shift in South Africa’s private sector energy market, where traders like NOA are aggregating demand and matching it with scaling renewable generation, enabling broad access to clean energy for commercial and industrial businesses.
Cornelissen noted that the country’s constrained grid environment remains a key challenge. “While grid bottlenecks persist in many resource-rich areas, we see growing opportunity in optimising secured capacity,” he said. “As part of our strategy, we’re investing in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to enable better load-shifting and maximise the export of clean energy from our assets.
The Khauta South project was acquired by NOA in April 2024 from Pure New Energy (PNE). Early works construction on the site began in early 2025, with energy production for Khauta South anticipated from early 2027.
NOA is backed by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), part of Old Mutual and one of Africa’s leading infrastructure- private equity fund managers. With over 740MW of grid-secured projects in its current portfolio, the company is on track to add significant generation capacity to South Africa’s grid from 2026.
“This transaction represents a blueprint for future generation facilities,” Cornelissen concluded. “By combining innovative finance with a scalable development model, we’re helping to drive South Africa’s energy transition and adding much need generation capacity to the national grid, while delivering real economic and environmental value.”
Khauta Project
- Khauta West: 157 MW; Khauta South: 349MW: Total Capacity: 506MW
- Location: near Welkom, Free State, South Africa
- Annual generation: 1073 GWh
- Scheduled construction commencement: Q4 2024
- Acquired by NOA (April 2024) from Pure New Energy (PNE)
- Khauta West COD: Q4 2026
- Khauta South COD: Q1 2027
- Feed to Eskom’s transmission network via the overhead line to the Leander Substation.
