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Commercial and industrial power developers see room for continued rapid growth in key African markets, with evolving deal structures proving competitive compared to unreliable and expensive grid electricity. C&I’s ascent is driving innovation in the terms of power purchase agreements and the profile of offtakers, write Tonderayi Mukeredzi and Marc Howard.

Nigeria's  Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has announced a construction start at two off-grid solar PV systems in the Federal Capital Territory, backed by $12.4m from the South Korean government.

German solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting system manufacturer Renusol has signed an agreement to supply its equipment to South African wholesaler Lumax Energy. “The solar market in South Africa is continuously growing,” said Lumax business development manager Frans-Willem Vermaak. “On top of the estimated 100MW of rooftop and agricultural photovoltaic output that has already been installed in the country, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research predicts a significant rise in new installations in the future – 500MW per year is possible – if the government provides even greater support for solar power generation, for example by enhancing regulation, introducing tax incentives or a feed-in tariff in all provinces.

A move to charge value-added tax (VAT) at 14% on off-grid solar, wind and hydro energy generation equipment and on clean cookstoves with effect from 1 July has caused an outcry from the green energy industry. Bodies including the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA), off-grid solar body GOGLA, the Clean Cooking Alliance of Kenya and the Kenya Renewable Energy Association have condemned the move. AMDA chief executive Aaron Leopold said the Treasury had ignored the advice of key industry players including the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.

A new investment vehicle has been established to invest in regional partners for UK-based off-grid solar company BBOXX. The vehicle, named Beam, will be managed by BBOXX shareholder Bamboo Capital Partners. Beam has been designed to support BBOXX’s ambition of expanding into 15 to 20 countries over the next five years. The company is operating in Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Togo. Bamboo’s Florian Kemmerich told African Energy that the terms of the first transaction were being negotiated.

Distributed solar company BBOXX has launched its ePay system in Rwanda. The payment system is designed to take advantage of the roughly $180m of remittances sent back to the country each year by allowing Rwanda’s diaspora to make payments for solar home systems and appliances on behalf of friends and family in the country.

Pioneering off-grid solar services company Azuri Technologies has announced that it has reached 100,000 sales for its PayGo solar home systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Chief executive Simon Bransfield-Garth told African Energy on the sidelines of the Powering Africa Summit in Washington on 9-10 March that the Cambridge-based company expected another 100,000 sales over the coming year. He said that Azuri and similar sized off-grid solar companies on the continent have been doubling their sales consistently every year, with new financing the key to maintaining growth.

Office National d'Electricité et de l’Eau Potable has released the 2013 procurement plan for the Integrated Wind and Rural Electrification project. Three tenders worth an estimated combined total of €222m ($290m) will be sought during the year.

Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina (Sonabel) is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to carry out an environmental and social impact assessment for rural electrification projects in the country. The projects will follow the route of the 330kV North Core interconnector, which will connect Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.

Mozambique’s Energy Fund (Funae) is inviting bids from consultants to carry out feasibility studies and advise on procurement of 11 solar PV and battery mini-grids. The deadline for submissions is 19 May.The contract is expected to last 12 months. The mini-grids are being developed on a public-private partnership basis. The independent power producer will be responsible for financing, operating and maintaining the generation facilities through power purchase agreements with Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM).

BBOXX on 11 January announced it was expanding operations in Democratic Republic of Congo through a partnership with Netherlands-based component manufacturer Victron Energy. The pair are targeting sales of large pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar systems in towns and cities across the country.The systems will use BBOXX’s PAYG model and Victron’s energy components. BBOXX already sells 50W systems in rural areas of Goma, which has a population of more than 1.5m and suffers frequent blackouts, but is hoping that its partnership with Victron will facilitate sales to urban businesses of larger, 0.5-5kW systems.

New York-based start-up Soluna Technologies, run by serial entrepreneur John Belizaire and backed by US private equity company Brookstone Partners, is raising funds to develop the first phase of an eventual 900MW wind farm site near Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara, which is under Moroccan administration but still subject to a United Nations decolonisation mandate.Soluna is bringing in investors to develop the first 36MW of the scheme, which at the outset will be entirely off-grid.

President Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo launched an emergency investment programme in Kinshasa on 2 March, focused mainly on improving the country’s road infrastructure, but also covering energy, education, housing, employment, transport, health, water and agriculture. According to a 78-page report detailing the projects, the state will provide up to $488m of funding, of which $183.2m is earmarked for work on roads. Some $20m of the total is earmarked for the electricity sector – $18.37m from the Treasury and $1.62m from the Industry Promotion Fund.

African solar power provider Daystar Power has secured $10m in investment from Verod Capital Management and Persistent Energy Capital and has lined up an additional $16m in debt financing to accelerate its expansion across West Africa. The deal will allow Daystar Power to expand its offering for commercial and industrial customers across the region, providing corporate clients with a reliable supply of clean solar energy while significantly reducing their operating costs and minimising the use of diesel generators.

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, announced in late July that it has reached final close on its third African Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF3). The fund raised $320m, making it one of the larger private equity funds on the continent, where the average fund raise is around $230m, according to Preqin Infrastructure Online’s 2018 Global Infrastructure Report. AIIM has already committed AIIF3 funds to nine projects and expects the fund to be fully committed within 18 to 24 months.