Mainstream Renewable Power reaches financial close on 50 MW solar PV plant to provide new flexible PPAs to private customers in South Africa

02 Oct 2024 08:58 CEST

- New PPA product gives businesses a better alternative for their electricity
supply

Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the pureplay global wind and solar
company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, has reached financial close on its
50 MW Ilikwa solar PV plant. The power from the plant will supply multiple
private commercial and industrial customers under flexible, shorter-term Power
Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in a new-to-market product called Renewable Energy
Supply Agreements ("RESAs").

This new product opens up the energy market in South Africa by giving a wider
range of businesses access to affordable, reliable and renewable power through
shorter-term energy contracts of between five and 10 years.

Commenting on the announcement, Mainstream's General Manager for Africa, Hein
Reyneke said: "We are excited to bring this new product to market, offering
customers the opportunity to secure flexible, clean and lower-cost electricity.
With a 12 GW portfolio, Mainstream has one of the largest and most advanced
pipelines of projects in the country.  Importantly, we have a further 180 MW of
projects ready for construction in 2025 and we encourage businesses to take
advantage of the benefits this new product offers."

Investec is a project partner, providing pre-construction development finance as
well as debt and equity finance for the construction of the plant. Mainstream
has a 70% equity stake in the project and Investec has a 30% equity stake.

Construction of the Ilikwa solar PV plant, located in the Free State province,
has already commenced, and is expected to reach commercial operation in early
2026. This is the second solar plant with private PPAs that Mainstream has taken
to financial close in South Africa within the last year.  When fully
operational, it will produce 141 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year,
powering the equivalent of more than 42,000 homes and avoiding the annual
release of approximately 100,000 tons of CO2.

Ends.

For further information, please contact:

Stian Andreassen, Investor Relations, Tel: +47 41 64 31 07,
stian.andreassen@akerhorizons.com

Emmet Curley, Media, Mainstream Renewable Power, Tel: + 353 86 241 1690,
emmet.curley@mainstreamrp.com

Mats Ektvedt, Media, Tel: +47 41 42 33 28,
mats.ektvedt@corporatecommunications.no

About Aker Horizons

Aker Horizons develops green energy and green industry to accelerate the
transition to Net Zero. The company is active in renewable energy, carbon
capture and hydrogen and develops industrial-scale decarbonization projects. As
part of the Aker group, Aker Horizons applies industrial, technological and
capital markets expertise with a planet-positive purpose to drive
decarbonization globally. Aker Horizons is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and
headquartered in Fornebu, Norway. Across its portfolio, the company is present
on five continents.

www.akerhorizons.com

About Mainstream Renewable Power

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company with
wind and solar assets across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Mainstream is one of the most successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables
platforms, across onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power generation. The
company has successfully delivered 6.6 GW of wind and solar generation assets to
financial close-ready and has a global project portfolio of over 23.8 GW. In
South Africa, Mainstream has developed and delivered into construction ten wind
and solar plants with a combined capacity of almost 1 GW.

www.mainstreamrp.com

More information:
Access the news on Oslo Bors NewsWeb site