Lesotho signs $15 billion water, wind energy deal

Lesotho has signed a $15 billion (11 billion euro) renewable energy deal with a South African company in the country's largest-ever private investment, officials said on Thursday. "The project aims to harness the natural resources of wind and water in Lesotho's Maluti Mountains to produce power that will be used by both Lesotho and South Africa," Johannesburg-based Harrison & White Investments said in a statement.
The Lesotho Highlands Power Project (LHPP) will generate 6,000 megawatts of wind power and 4,000 megawatts of hydro-power - equivalent to nearly one-quarter of South Africa's total current energy supply. The scheme will create 25,000 jobs over 15 years, Lesotho's natural resources minister Monyane Moleleki said. Harrison & White Investments and the government of Lesotho will provide equity finance, while unnamed Chinese firms will provide loans, Harrison & White said.