SunEdison has borrowed R1.8bn (around US$176mn) from Opic for a solar plant project in South Africa.

The loan from the development finance arm of the US government will cover 75% of the cost of the 60MW Boshof Solar Park project near Kimberley.

There’s an offtake agreement in place with Eskom, the national utility, under a 20-year contract. The plant is expected to be online by Q4 2014.