Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking reports that it is backing projects worth R10-billion as part of South Africa’s third renewable-energy bidding round, which is currently in the final stages of adjudication.

CEO David Munro says the projects have a combined capacity of more than 1 000 MW and that the bank, which was a leading funder of projects during the first two rounds, is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the adjudication process.

During the first bidding round, Standard Bank underwrote R9.4-billion for wind and solar projects and followed that up with a further R6.4-billion during the second round.

“These are meaningful commitments of financial resources to individual projects and companies that will be creating renewables assets in South Africa,” Munro enthuses.

Third-round bidding under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) closed on August 19 and the preferred bidders are expected to be named on October 29.

The Department of Energy (DoE) is aiming to secure an initial 3 625 MW of large-scale renewables capacity through the REIPPPP, of which 2 460 MW has already been allocated across 47 projects.

The 1 165 MW balance is expected to be allocated during the third bidding round, with observers indicating that pricing has become even more competitive than was the case during the second window, particularly for the solar photovoltaic allocation.

The DoE has also set a closing date of March 31, 2014, for a dedicated concentrated solar power bidding round and a submission deadline of August 18, 2014, for a fourth bid window. This follows a Ministerial determination indicating that the DoE will procure an additional 3 200 MW of renewables capacity over the coming few years.

Earlier in the year, Standard Bank also signed a R20-billion funding support agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, its 20% shareholder, to support renewable-energy projects in South Africa.

In early October, the first R180-million transaction drawing on that co-investment agreement was confirmed for a wind farm in the Eastern Cape.

Besides the REIPPPP programme, Standard Bank, which, since the financial crisis, has a stronger African focus, is pursuing a range of other energy prospects across the continent, having identified oil and gas, mining and infrastructure as core business areas.

“Oil and gas has emerged as a significant theme and is attracting a huge amount of capital,” Munro explains, adding that it is likely to be particularly active in Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique in the near term.