GLOBELEQ’S RED SANDS BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

LONDON, 12 March 2026: Representatives from Globeleq, a leading independent power company in Africa, and the Red Sands battery energy storage system (BESS) project team attended the annual IJ Global Awards (Europe & Africa) at The Peninsula Hotel in London on the evening of 12 March 2026. The Red Sands BESS project – currently the largest standalone BESS under construction in Africa – was nominated for, and ultimately won, the BESS Deal of the Year, Africa award.

The IJ Global Awards event celebrated notable achievements for deals closed during the 2025 calendar year. Company categories were assessed by an independent panel of industry experts, while transaction awards were selected based on submissions reviewed by the relevant IJ Global editorial team.

Red Sands BESS is a 153 MW / 612 MWh battery energy storage project in South Africa, owned by Globeleq and its project partner, African Rainbow Energy. Located near Upington in the Northern Cape, the facility will span approximately five hectares and supply electricity to NTCSA under a 15‑year power purchase agreement.

The project includes significant upgrades to Eskom and NTCSA’s grid infrastructure and will help ease transmission and distribution congestion in the region. During construction, the project is expected to create around 250 jobs, followed by approximately 80 jobs during operations, with a strong focus on sourcing local talent in both phases. Approximately ZAR 5.4 billion (~US$300 million) in debt financing was raised from Absa and Standard Bank.

Red Sands BESS will be Globeleq’s second utility‑scale BESS project, complementing its portfolio of 15 solar, wind, hydro, and hybrid PV‑plus‑storage plants across South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, and Egypt. Globeleq currently has an additional 665 MW of new power capacity under construction.