Clean energy powerhouse Anthem and project co-shareholders Reatile Renewables reach financial close on Notsi Solar Project with Discovery Green and NOA trading as offtakers

Cape Town, South Africa, 5 March 2026 – The recently launched Anthem, one of South Africa’s largest renewable energy investment holding businesses and independent power producers, is proud to announce the financial close of its 475MWac (620MWdc) Notsi solar photovoltaic (PV) project, located in the Free State. It currently ranks as the largest solar PV project in South Africa and will power the commercial and industrial sectors via offtake agreements with Discovery Green and NOA.

Spanning more than 1000 hectares, the project comprises over 860 000 solar panels. This is equivalent in size to more than 1 000 rugby fields or just over 40 runways at Cape Town or OR Tambo International Airports. Its annual energy output of circa 1 500 000 MWh of clean electrons is enough to power about 140 000 homes per year.

Anthem is the lead investor, developer, generator, and long-term operator of the Notsi Project. Reatile Group is Anthem’s equity partner in the project. Construction is expected to be completed within 26 months. The Project follows a multi-offtaker wheeling model, making use of agreements with Eskom to wheel power over the national grid via trading offtake agreements with Discovery Green and NOA for 20 years or more.

James Cumming, CEO of Anthem, said “Anthem developed Notsi at this immense size to provide low-cost wholesale power to the private market, whilst also ensuring it can amortise with grid upgrades that the project is building on behalf of Eskom and NTCSA. The scale and strategic relevance of Notsi epitomises the progress of solar energy wheeling in South Africa. It is a win-win for investors, offtakers and lenders, but also for South Africa, which is a fundamental driver of Anthem’s ethos. We are immensely appreciative to all involved and look forward to serving our highly valued customers; Discovery Green and NOA”.

Simphiwe Mehlomakulu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Reatile Group explained, “As a South African investment group focused on sustainable, long-term infrastructure, we are proud to partner with Anthem in bringing the Notsi Solar Project to financial close. Our role as equity partner reflects our confidence in both the project fundamentals and in the evolution of South Africa’s renewable energy market. Notsi demonstrates that locally anchored capital can play a meaningful role in scaling generation capacity, enabling energy security and accelerating the just energy transition.”

The transaction was financed by a consortium of lead lenders and arrangers, consisting of Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA, Vantage GreenX Note III and Third Way Investment Partners. A China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) - Northwest Electric Power Design Institute (NWEPDI) Joint Venture has been appointed as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor, while Anthem will assume the operations and maintenance responsibilities from year three of operations.

Beyond energy and employment, the Notsi Project will create local impact through socio-economic development investments in the operations phase, guided by needs and asset mapping to ensure effective resource allocation.

Andre Nepgen, CEO of Discovery Green, one of South Africa’s leading trader-led renewable energy platforms and a division of the Discovery Limited Group, explained: “Reaching financial close on the Notsi Project brings significant new renewable capacity onto the grid at a time when businesses are prioritising long-term price certainty and a clear pathway to decarbonisation. Projects of this scale enables Discovery Green to offer businesses, whether big and small, access to globally competitive energy prices without investing themselves or taking unnecessary risk.

Karel Cornelissen, Group CEO of NOA, a leading South African, IPP, aggregator and energy trader, said “Notsi represents another important step in scaling South Africa’s competitive renewable energy market. With this transaction, NOA’s diversified portfolio now approaches 1.5 GW of generation capacity in construction and development across owned assets and strategic offtake partnerships. Projects of this scale are critical to delivering reliable, long-term clean energy to our growing portfolio of commercial and industrial customers. Our model is defined by diversified generation with disciplined aggregation and trading capability, enabling customers to access renewable energy with greater certainty and flexibility.”

The project is the latest in a series of collaborations by the same consortium of energy and finance partners.

Anthem now has over a gigawatt of wind and solar projects for private offtake in operations and construction. This in addition to its gigawatt operational portfolio under REIPPPP.

“Anthem’s multi-offtaker, wholesale model unlocks access to clean electricity for a wider range of commercial and industrial customers through renewable energy aggregators. This approach represents the future of energy security and transition in South Africa, enabling decarbonisation at scale as well as long-term economic and socio-economic benefits,” Cumming concludes.