By Stanley Senya
Accra, Aug. 3, GNA – SolarAfrica Energy and Starsight Energy have successfully completed their business merger to become the pan-African clean energy platform providing on- and off-site renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial customers.
A statement issued and signed by Mr Paul van Zijl, Group CEO and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said it was well-positioned to serve a wide range of customers with a comprehensive mix of cost-effective solutions, providing power security and carbon reduction.
It said the merger was backed by Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (“AIIM”), both of which had decades-long track records of bringing investment to support African innovation.
The statement said an expanded solutions portfolio unlocking simple and sustainable access to power.
It said customers across Africa could access fully serviced clean energy solutions through the merged group.
This includes solar energy, battery storage, wheeling and energy management, which are all operated and maintained on behalf of the customer.
The merged Group’s mission was to make power accessible and affordable.
The statement said the merger would unlock more efficiencies across the Group allowing it to take more customers on a green energy journey that solved their power requirements and a sustainable future.
Mr Paul van Zijl, Group CEO, said, “The supply of renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa is relatively fragmented with several suppliers in the market. This merger is a substantial step for us and will provide a true pan-African platform to deliver clean renewable energy in key economies.”
The merged Group consists of an installed and contracted portfolio of 520 MW in solar power generation, 60 MWh of battery storage and an additional energy pipeline exceeding 2 GW.
The portfolio has led to a carbon offset of more than 360 000 tonnes of CO2 to date.
“This merger will enhance our current capabilities and allow us to deploy Energy and Cooling as a Service on a much larger scale. This is therefore a story of growth. Not only for Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica but also for the renewable energy landscape in Africa,” Mr Van Zijl added.
In addition to key markets Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa, the Group is working on imminent expansion into Tanzania and Uganda.
He said it brought a range of renewable energy solutions to the table, with solar energy, battery storage and cooling at the top of the list.
“We do not believe in a fly-in fly-out model and will have ‘boots on the ground’ in our geographies. Our country teams consist of dedicated in-country management as well as sales and technical teams who represent our ethos, whilst being supported by the wider group management,” said Mr Van Zijl.
Mr Charl Alheit, Group Chief Investment Officer, said, “We are excited about making a meaningful contribution to power supply on the continent through our on- and off-site solutions. This will help take pressure off national grids which have been under significant strain in many of the core African markets.”
He said providing these solutions to more businesses could also go a long way in developing distributed renewable energy frameworks in each region.
The merged group will retain a strong presence within the various countries to further strengthen its footprint across Africa.
The group will also retain its regional management structures, with David McDonald (Southern Africa), Emmanuel Ayifa Baah (Ghana), Ladi Sanni (Nigeria) and Rupesh Hindocha (East Africa) leading their respective regions.
GNA