South Africa, located in the southern tip of Africa, shares borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. With nearly one-fifth of its extensive 3,000-kilometer (km) coastline having been developed within 100 meters (m) of the shoreline, natural buffers against storm surges and rising seas have been degraded. South Africa is vulnerable to droughts, floods, and storm-related events, such as high winds, coastal storm surges, and hail.
INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA
CIF’s investment in South Africa is through its Clean Technology Fund (CTF) is one of its biggest commitments to a single country. In line with national goals to diversify its energy mix, South Africa’s $462-million CTF investment plan is aimed at helping to overcome high upfront capital costs, first-mover risks, and other barriers to public and private investments in wind, solar, and energy efficiency. CTF's concessional financing has been essential in bridging the cost gap relative to coal-power generation and providing positive incentives for national utility Eskom and its lenders to proceed with large-scale projects.
These projects include developing 100 megawatts (MW) of wind, 100 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP) generation capacity, and 200 MW of battery storage. CTF is also supporting some of the first independent power producers in the country, including the 100-MW KaXu CSP plant — the first operational private-sector utility-scale CSP plant in the developing world.
Through the recently-launched Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) program, South Africa has been chosen as one of the first 4 pilot countries selected, and can receive up to $ 500 million in financing for program implementation.
