Nedbank Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) scooped the impact loan of the year award for its role structuring a landmark ZAR2.5 billion ($140 million) green loan for critical solar power projects being developed in South Africa.

The deal was signed with ENGIE Southern Africa and its partner Pele Green Energy to support the construction and development of two solar power plants with an aggregate capacity of 150MW under the fifth round of South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme.

However, the innovative deal not only includes senior debt to finance the projects but also ancillary funding to support the development of the plants.

Nedbank CIB provided funding for half the loan and served as sole sustainability structurer and coordinator on the deal, as well as joint lead arranger. By working closely with ENGIE and Pele Green Energy, Nedbank CIB said it was able to ensure the entire lending package – including ancillary financing – was aligned with the Green Loan Principles as well as the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) Climate Bonds Standard and South Africa's own Green Finance Taxonomy.

Nedbank CIB said the "primary" objective of the green loan project is not only to support the green transition, but also one of the "most pressing macroeconomic challenges" in the country caused by widespread 'load-shedding'. Load-shedding means energy firms shut off power to groups of customers to reduce demand on generation networks when supply is constrained.

"This additional [renewable energy] generating capacity is crucial in ensuring continuous access to adequate quantities of electricity, both under normal operations and during emergency situations," Nedbank CIB said.