Evan Rice,
Etana Energy
CEO
Etana Energy, a South African energy trading company, has secured an R1.8 billion guarantee facility from GuarantCo and British International Investment (BII), each providing US$50 million in default guarantee finance. This is South Africa’s largest ‘energy wheeling framework’ transaction aimed at unlocking new renewable energy capacity by offering revenue certainty to independent power producers (IPPs).
The US$100 million facility is expected to enable an estimated R9 billion in renewable energy projects, contributing significantly to South Africa’s green energy transition and supporting the UK’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). Over the next few years, the initiative will displace fossil fuels, avoid 1.2 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, and add around 500MW to the grid through various IPPs.
Recent regulatory changes have made the deal possible, allowing private producers to sell electricity to business customers. Etana facilitates ‘wheeling’ through the existing transmission network. Etana’s shareholders include H1 Holdings and Chariot Limited.
Evan Rice, CEO at Etana Energy, says, “We must pursue all avenues to unlock the capital required to build new electricity generation capacity in South Africa. Local businesses need low-carbon, cost-competitive electricity to remain relevant and viable. Etana’s aggregation model offers a way to meet these needs whilst enabling new renewable energy capacity to be built. This guarantee facility is a critical piece of the puzzle for a relatively new company like Etana to be a bankable off-taker for IPPs.”