The largest single solar photovoltaic project in South Africa

Standard Bank, the biggest bank in Africa by assets, has partnered with Anthem to fund the Notsi renewable energy project, South Africa’s largest single phased solar photovoltaic (PV) project to reach financial close.

The Notsi renewable energy project is in the Free State and has a generation capacity of 475MW. The electricity generated by the facility will mainly supply the commercial and industrial sectors through long-term power offtake agreements with Discovery Green and NOA Group. Standard Bank was appointed as co-mandated Lead Arranger, coordinating Lead Arranger and will also serve as facility agent, account, guarantee issuing and hedging bank.

“We are immensely proud to have worked with Anthem to finalise the Notsi project. Its scale and complexity speak to our capacity to deliver bespoke solutions for our clients that address big societal challenges and reflect our position as a leader in the renewable energy aggregator market. Our role in this transaction reinforces the strong level of trust our clients place in us to structure, solution and fund transactions of this nature. We are strong believers in sustainable energy solutions that help drive the growth of Africa, the Notsi project meets both goals and we are proud to have played a pivotal role in its finalisation,” says Vincenzia Leitich, Executive Vice President, Energy and Infrastructure, Standard Bank.

Anthem is one of the largest Independent Power Producers in South Africa, with over 2GW of wind, solar and hydro projects in operation or construction.

Its scale and complexity speak to Standard Bank’s capacity to deliver bespoke solutions for our clients that address big societal challenges and reflect our position as a leader in the renewable energy aggregator market.

“We are thrilled to continue to partner with Standard Bank, an organisation that shares our passion for sustainable energy solutions at scale. By supplying renewable energy to corporate and commercial off takers, the Notsi project supports the growing aggregator market, enables corporate decarbonisation and supports South Africa’s transition to lower‑carbon, more sustainable energy consumption. We look forward to continuing our work in sustainable energy with solar, wind, hydro and battery storage projects that make meaningful change to people’s lives,” says Mike Wickins, Chief Commercial Officer of Anthem.

The project directly advances South Africa’s electricity market reform objectives by promoting competition, supporting market liberalisation, and enabling greater private‑sector participation through an aggregator‑led offtake model.

Once completed, the facility is expected to generate approximately 1.5-million megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. This amount of energy could supply around 140 000 households annually.