South Africa signs off on 612 MWh Red Sands battery

The Globeleq renewables developer owned by the development finance bodies of the United Kingdom and Norway has announced commercial and financial close on its 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands BESS, in South Africa.

South Africa’s Department of Electricity and Energy and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) have signed offtake agreements for the BESS, which will support the national grid and be built near Upington, in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

Globeleq, which acquired the project from South African developer African Green Ventures in 2023, described the Red Sands project as “the largest standalone BESS plant in Africa to reach commercial close.”

The five-hectare site was awarded preferred bidder status last year in South Africa’s Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Program and will supply grid-strengthening “ancillary-” and grid management services to the NTCSA network as well as electricity under a 15-year power purchase agreement.

Globeleq said it had borrowed around ZAR 5.4 billion ($304 million) from Johannesburg-based lenders ABSA Group and Standard Bank to finance the project.

State-owned China Energy Engineering Corp has been selected as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services provider for Red Sands and China’s Sungrow will provide the BESS and a long-term service agreement. The developer said the project would require 250 construction jobs and 80 operational roles.

Globeleq, which is 70% owned by British International Investment and 30% by Norfund, said the BESS will be its second and will join a portfolio of 13 other solar, wind, and solar-plus-storage projects in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, and Egypt. Globeleq said it is also constructing the Menengai geothermal site in Kenya.

London-based Globeleq’s Red Sands project partner is the African Rainbow Energy clean power investment platform owned by renewables and gas company African Rainbow Energy and Power, and by Johannesburg-based bank ABSA Group.

Globeleq CEO Jonathan Hoffman said, “Commercial close on the Red Sands BESS is a landmark moment for Globeleq and for battery [energy] storage in Africa. It highlights our ability to deliver large-scale, clean energy infrastructure that meets the continent’s evolving power needs. Building on over a decade of renewable energy leadership in South Africa – and our Cuamba solar-plus-storage plant in Mozambique – we’re integrating battery [energy] storage across our portfolio to support resilient, low-carbon power systems across Africa.”

*This article was updated on July 1 to include details about the project’s funding, ownership, and location and to name the companies selected to supply the BESS and EPC services.