As South African businesses increasingly turn to private-sector solutions to address the growing energy crisis, private equity manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a subsidiary of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, has doubled its equity commitment to renewable energy platform NOA Group Holdings to the tune of R3.2-billion.

Ed Stumpf, investment director at AIIM, says that the decision to ramp up investment commitment has been driven by strong client demand and the urgency to expedite the development of renewable energy sites in South Africa.

“We have seen exceptionally strong traction since the launch of NOA (November 2022). Demand from our clients has necessitated an increase and acceleration in AIIM’s investment to enable the delivery of a much larger renewable energy portfolio on much quicker timeframes than we had initially envisaged. 

“NOA’s differentiated approach and the rapid progress made by the team in a short space of time has increased our conviction in NOA’s potential to make a significant impact on the energy landscape in South Africa as a world-class developer, owner, operator and trader of renewable energy solutions,” Stumpf said, adding that financing for NOA will be sourced from a combination of equity provided by AIIM’s South African IDEAS Fund and the latest iteration of AIIM’s US dollar-denominated pan-African investment fund, AIIF4.

Netcare to switch 11% power to renewable energy

Most recently, the NOA Group concluded negotiations for a renewable energy supply agreement with hospital group Netcare. The transaction covers six Netcare facilities whose power is currently supplied by Eskom. From the first quarter of 2026, up to 100% of these sites’ energy consumption – comprising approximately 11% of Netcare’s total energy consumption – will be supplied from renewable energy sources through a combination of wind and solar farms. Renewable energy will be wheeled through the national grid to the six designated Netcare facilities via the existing Eskom distribution transmission network.

Netcare says that this is an important step towards its goal of achieving 100% reliance on renewable energy sources by 2030. 

“[This initiative] forms part of our wider environmental sustainability strategy that also aims to reach zero waste to landfill and have a 20% reduction of impact on water sources within the next seven years,” Netcare CEO Dr Richard Friedland said.

Netcare has also committed to procuring 100% of its purchased electrical energy from renewable energy sources by 2030, supporting the Race to Zero global campaign with targets that exceed the requirements of the science-based target initiative aimed at limiting global warming.

“In combination with other initiatives already implemented under Netcare’s sustainability programme, this transaction will increase the proportion of Netcare’s total energy consumption that is derived from renewable energy sources to around 26%,” Friedland said.

NOA is a vertically integrated energy platform specialising in solutions for commercial and industrial sectors, including large-scale wheeled energy generation using wind, solar and storage technologies. NOA aims to develop, finance and operate a portfolio exceeding 2.5GW of renewable energy assets over time.

NOA chief executive Karel Cornelissen said given South Africa’s current high carbon intensity and the need to address high unemployment, poverty and inequality, NOA could play a major role in balancing environmental priorities with economic and social considerations. DM