ANTHEM MOVES AHEAD WITH GIANT FREE STATE PV PROJECT FOLLOWING OFFTAKE AGREEMENTS.
Leading South African independent power producer Anthem has announced that its giant 475 MWac (620 MWdc) Notsi solar PV project in the Free State has advanced to financial close after concluding private offtake agreements with electricity traders Discovery Green and NOA Group.
The R9-billion transaction has been supported by a consortium of lenders, including Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA and Vantage GreenX Note.
Anthem is the lead developer, generator, majority equity participant and long-term operator of the facility, and the Reatile Group is Anthem’s equity partner in the project.
Notsi follows a multi-offtaker wheeling model, making use of agreements with Eskom to wheel power over the national grid through 20-year-plus offtake agreements with traders Discovery Green and NOA Group.
It further highlights the increasing role of traders in supporting new generation projects; a trend that was underlined in a recent South African Energy Traders Association report showing that most of the more than 1 GW of new projects that reached financial close in 2025 were backed by trader offtake commitments.
The two traders will sell the electricity to large and small businesses across a range of sectors, including industrial, retail, mining and farming enterprises. Discovery Green, which has contracted for 290 MW, has also confirmed that some of the electricity will be allocated to Ampli Energy, its joint venture with Sasol that offers month-to-month supply deals to small companies.
Spanning more than 1 000 ha, Notsi ranks as the largest solar PV project in South Africa. It will comprise over 860 000 solar panels and have a yearly energy output of about 1 5000 000 MWh.
A China Energy Engineering Corporation-Northwest Electric Power Design Institute JV has been appointed as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, while Anthem will assume the operations and maintenance responsibilities post year two of operations.
Construction is expected to be completed within 26 months.
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