Project detail - EVIII Red Rocket Co-Invest Ltd

Who is our customer

Red Rocket Holding is a platform developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects across the African continent with a focus on South Africa. Red Rocket Holding has projects predominantly in solar and wind. See https://redrocket.energy for further details.

What is our funding objective?

FMO’s equity investment is used to acquire a majority interest in Red Rocket Holdings together with a consortium of investors led by Inspired Evolution, a specialised clean energy investment fund manager with a focus on renewable energy infrastructure and impact investing. The financing will further facilitate the development, construction and operations of the renewable energy projects owned by Red Rocket.

Why do we fund this investment?

Red Rocket will aim to contribute to the development, construction and operations of (greenfield) renewable energy projects in Africa. All projects owned by Red Rocket will provide clean and reliable electricity to countries with a need for additional power. This transaction will be fully Green as it involves wind and solar energy generation. Red Rocket is committed to sustainable development and to ensure that the environment and society at large benefit from their projects.

What is the Environmental and Social categorization rationale?

E&S risk is considered High (Cat. A), based on the platform’s investment strategy and E&S risk profile and size of targeted investments. The pipeline is focussed on wind and solar but also includes energy storage and large-scale Commercial & Industrial (C&I) projects. Green hydrogen and transmission have been identified as opportunities. The near-term pipeline shows 7 large wind opportunities in South Africa (ranging from 80 to 240 MW), and two solar projects, one in Zambia (40 MW), one in Mali (30 MW). These projects individually are at least B+ or cat A, hence this direct investment is cat A. There is a high likelihood of triggering IFC PS 6 due to complex biodiversity issues occurring (e.g. in wind farms) and triggering IFC PS 5 due to land acquisition issues (e.g. in solar). Careful management of IFC PS2 on labour standards and IFC PS 4 on community relations are required in all projects. The E&S team at Red Rocket will need to have the management capacity to manage IFC PS 1-8 exposure and impacts and the E&S management system will be further strengthened to be able to be adequately develop, own and operate these large renewable assets across the African continent in line with IFC performance standards. FMO, other DFIs and the SA - based fund Evolution III will monitor the E&S performance of the assets and the E&S capacity within Red Rocket holding throughout the investment period.