Private healthcare and hospital company Mediclinic on June 15 announced that it had signed a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with sustainable infrastructure investment fund manager Moshesh Partners, to reduce the hospital group's energy costs.

Mediclinic, based in South Africa and Namibia, contracted Moshesh Partners to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at six of its hospitals. This will ensure the hospitals have access to affordable and clean power.

Installations will be rolled out from June to December.

“The solar PV systems will generate electricity that is supplied directly to each hospital site, affording them cost savings on their monthly power bills while relieving pressure on the constrained national grid.

"They will be built by commercial and industrial solar PV company ACES Africa, which has already completed 153 similar projects in six countries.”

Across the six hospitals, the solar sites installed and managed by Moshesh Partners will have the capacity to generate approximately 4 100 000 kWh/y, with the largest facilities being installed at Mediclinic Vergelegen and Mediclinic Durbanville.

With the National Energy Regulator of South Africa having approved increases in the electricity tariffs charged by power utility Eskom of 15% in 2021 to 2022, businesses of all types and sizes are seeking ways to manage their energy costs more effectively.

“Having access to on-site clean, affordable energy will help Mediclinic manage its energy costs more effectively, while helping us reduce the group’s carbon footprint – a key priority for our business,” says Mediclinic Southern Africa Infrastructure GM Kobus Jonck.

This is the first investment out of the Moshesh Partners renewable energy and clean infrastructure energy (RECI) Fund 1 since it reached the first close of its R2-billion RECI Fund in September. It sets the scene for how the fund can help businesses secure consistent energy supplies at predictable pricing from independent and renewable sources without capital investment.

“Our investment in the project portfolio includes the full installation cost of the solar PV systems, as well as maintaining them to ensure consistent, excellent performance. Mediclinic will benefit from immediate and tangible savings, as well as consistent energy supply from a renewable energy source without having to allocate capital expenditure,” says Moshesh Partners CIO and cofounding member Daniel Palm.

“The PPA means that the hospital group will also be protected from excessive power price increases,” Palm adds.

The agreement includes an option to extend the PPA by 25 years.