The power generated from the solar facility will be fed into the national grid in Mafeteng Province, South Africa.
The power plant will reduce dependence on power generated from coal by contributing to the phase-out of expensive power imports from Mozambique.
To take the project to the financial closure, SEFA will fund the technical and financial services, environmental and social impact assessment.
Besides, Africa Climate Technology Centre (ACTC) of AfDB will provide finance for legal services and support in the implementation of the project.
The solar facility is expected to contribute nearly 13% to Lesotho's peak system demand of around 150 MW. It will help in reducing power retail prices in Lesotho by avoiding 20MW of costly imported power from Mozambique.
AfDB director for renewable energy and energy efficiency Ousseynou Nakoulima said: “The Bank will support the structuring of the Project and lead it to bankability. Our ambition is to turn it into a reference solar PV project for the SADC Region.”
In 2014, AfDB provided a $142m loan to build a 100MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in South Africa. The plant was planned to generate the electricity by using parabolic trough technology and a superheated steam cycle with a 1,650MWh of storage capacity.
