South Africa has launched a loan guarantee scheme to support commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects with the goal of deploying 1 GW of rooftop PV capacity.
South Africa’s National Treasury has launched the Energy Bounce (EBB) Loan Guarantee Scheme. The initiative aims to support the deployment of commercial and industrial photovoltaic systems.
Businesses will receive solar-related loans backed by a 20% first loss guarantee from the South African Reserve Bank.
"The EBB aims to increase generation capacity by 1,000 megawatts and increase load-shedding capacity of micro and informal enterprises," the authority said.
Measures to enhance resilience include energy storage assets such as batteries and inverters, even without direct generation capacity.
The scheme will operate through three different mechanisms: SME loan guarantees, energy service company (ESCO) loan guarantees, and working capital loans for rooftop solar supply chain businesses.
Turnover of participating companies must not exceed ZAR 300 million ($15.9 million) and borrowing limits may not exceed ZAR 10 million. The program will expire on August 30, 2024.