South African renewable energy developer Anthem has reached financial close on the 20MWac (23.14MWdc) Tsamela Solar project in Eswatini. This milestone marks a key step in the country’s renewable energy expansion and is the first project under the ESERA Solar PV procurement programme to achieve financial close.
Located in the Hhohho Region near Ngwenya, the Tsamela Solar project was awarded to Anthem through a competitive tender process. It will deliver solar photovoltaic generation to the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC).
The Anthem-developed project is expected to strengthen Eswatini’s energy security and accelerate the transition to greater renewable energy generation. It secured backing from Standard Bank Eswatini and Standard Bank South Africa as senior lenders, while the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) participated as a strategic partner, providing both debt and equity.
Construction is now underway by Alensy Energy Solutions, with commercial operations expected within 15 months and first-year generation of approximately 47,788 MWh. The project will sit on a 44.8-hectare site and will host more than 37,000 bifacial solar panels, designed to maximise output under some of the country’s highest solar irradiation conditions.
Improving generation capacity in Eswatini
Once operational, Tsamela will make a meaningful contribution to Eswatini’s domestic generation capacity, reducing reliance on imports and supporting broader energy security and transition goals.
Eswatini is aggressively transitioning to renewable energy to bolster domestic power generation capacity and reduce its reliance on imported electricity from South Africa, targeting 70% renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2034.
Newly launched platform Anthem was formed last year through the integration of African Clean Energy Developments (ACED) and Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS) Africa, becoming one of South Africa’s largest independent power producers (IPPs).
The platform is backed by the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) IDEAS Fund, the Mahlako Energy Fund (managed by Mahlako Financial Services), and Norfund. Anthem has a portfolio of 2.7GW of operational and under-construction capacity, an approximately 11GW greenfield pipeline, and an estimated 15% market share in South Africa’s renewable energy IPP market.
