South Africa’s Red Rocket secures R3 billion for renewable energy expansion

South African renewable energy developer Red Rocket raised R3 billion ($160 million) in funding from management and investment partners to help the business expand across the region.

The Cape Town-based company has built hydro, solar and wind projects. It reached a financial close on 364 MW of wind turbines in February.

“While the bulk of Red Rocket’s pipeline is in South Africa, the firm also plans to expand into other markets, mostly southern Africa,” CEO Matteo Brambilla said in an interview.

“The new investment partners will assist Red Rocket in building out utility-scale power projects on the continent.”

South Africa’s Eskom is struggling to meet electricity demand, resulting in record outages that crimp the economy.

The government has turned to independent power producers to help build capacity in order to stabilize the power grid, though the program has faced delays.

Red Rocket raised the capital from main backers Bill Kilgore Investments, a vehicle run by management shareholders, as well as climate investor Inspired Evolution.

FMO, a Dutch entrepreneurial development bank and French infrastructure and energy investor STOA have joined as partners.