Starsight Power & SolarAfrica Merge To Create One Of The Largest C&I Photo voltaic Growth Corporations In Africa

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Main east and west African renewable power supplier Starsight Energy is merging with the famend South African photo voltaic power enabler, SolarAfrica. The merger will create one of many largest C&I photo voltaic improvement firms in Africa, topic to regulatory approvals. The merged group shall be a pure-play industrial and industrial (C&I) service supplier, overlaying the complete scope of C&I initiatives, from rooftop initiatives to giant scale company Energy Buy Agreements (PPA) backed initiatives. The group will cowl three key geographical hubs (japanese, southern, and western Africa), with additional pan-African diversification being thought-about.

The merger will create the primary actually Pan-African renewable power providers supplier which shall be properly positioned to serve an excellent wider vary of shoppers with a complete mixture of renewable power options. The merged group, backed by Helios Investment Partners (Helios) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), will comprise a portfolio of over 220 MW of operated and contracted era capability, with 40 MWh of battery storage, and an extra pipeline exceeding 1 GW. Starsight was the primary renewable power firm in Nigeria to safe carbon credit score accreditation, whereas SolarAfrica was named African Photo voltaic Firm of the 12 months throughout 2021.

Alongside the merger, funds managed by AIIM have dedicated substantial additional funding to the South African subsidiary of the merged entity. The funding will assist to progress the build-out of the contracted pipeline within the C&I wheeling market in South Africa, offering power safety and certainty of pricing to giant C&I clients.

Starsight Power was based in 2015 and is backed by Helios and AIIM, a member of Previous Mutual Different Investments. It gives renewable power and cooling options (on- and off-grid) to the C&I sectors, with market main operations in east and west Africa. Starsight has over 656 websites in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. The corporate was named one in every of Africa’s quickest rising firms in 2022 by UK Monetary Occasions, and can also be the primary renewable power firm in Nigeria to safe carbon credit score accreditation, licensed by the Verra Verified Carbon Customary (VCS) program, the world’s most generally used voluntary greenhouse gasoline (GHG) certification program.

Based in 2011, SolarAfrica has constructed up intensive expertise in delivering power options by way of Energy Buy Agreements to companies throughout southern Africa. It has developed from a specialist supplier of rooftop photo voltaic photovoltaic methods to a full-service supplier of capex-free, inexperienced power options starting from photo voltaic and battery storage choices by way of to wheeling and electrical energy buying and selling to the C&I market.

SolarAfrica has already positioned itself as a aggressive participant within the newly enabled energy wheeling house, having just lately signed up giant blue chip clients. The group is now properly positioned to service giant energy customers with a decrease value electrical energy various from a just lately developed centralized photo voltaic era website, making the most of South Africa’s newly revised rules allowing wheeling and self-generation of as much as 100 MW by non-public mills.

Tony Carr, Starsight Power’s Group Chief Govt Officer, explains: “This merger demonstrates our joint dedication to increase our footprint throughout Africa. With SolarAfrica, the brand new mixed group turns into one of many largest industrial suppliers of dependable and clear power options to the industrial and industrial sector throughout the continent.”

“The merger will allow efficiencies throughout the group, starting from procurement to funding, and additional permit for the rollout of our proprietary know-how platform throughout the continent. These efficiencies will help the group in offering a singular and priceless providing, that takes clients on a inexperienced power journey to resolve their energy struggles and permits a sustainable future for his or her companies,” says David McDonald, SolarAfrica Power co-founder and Chief Govt Officer.

Olusola Lawson, Managing Director and co-Head at AIIM, feedback: “The transformational Starsight/SolarAfrica merger is a robust illustration of worth creation within the nascent African industrial and industrial renewable power house. As one in every of Africa’s largest renewable power fairness buyers, and with a renewable power portfolio of round 2GW, AIIM has been privileged to play a key function within the progress and growth of the Starsight platform during the last 5 years. We’re delighted to proceed to help the enterprise with further funding to expedite the realisation of its substantial pipeline, and we sit up for the continued success of the mixed platform.”

Ogbemi Ofuya, Companion at Helios Funding Companions notes: “This transaction combines the complementary capabilities and geographical attain of two main gamers in distributed power options for companies and industries throughout Africa. Helios has been part of Starsight’s journey from its inception and has supported the expansion of the enterprise leveraging on our expertise in constructing and scaling market main infrastructure companies on the continent. This transaction creates a market chief throughout Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies, with a protracted track-record of offering, cleaner and extra dependable power options for its clients delivered at aggressive value ranges. We stay excited in regards to the important progress prospects of the enlarged Starsight platform.”

The newly fashioned entity will comprise of 340 employees throughout a number of jurisdictions and create a mixed shareholder group offering monetary capability to ship renewable power providers throughout Africa. The 2 events imagine that their mixed experience, together with SolarAfrica’s power options software program platform, which permits its gross sales groups to customise power proposals and produce correct financial savings projections, won’t solely place the group as Africa’s main supplier of inexperienced power options to industrial and industrial energy customers, however can even speed up Africa’s transition in direction of a better renewable power combine.

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