InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and the Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFi) have pledged US$15.5mn to enable Africa GreenCo (GreenCo) to scale as Zambia’s first renewable energy buyer and services provider
GreenCo’s model involves purchasing power from renewable independent power producers (IPPs) and selling that electricity to utilities, private sector offtakers and competitive markets in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The capital raised by the second fundraising will provide GreenCo with working capital and the Liquidity Buffer necessary to support a portfolio of up to 110MW of renewable energy.
GreenCo’s chief investment officer, Pug Bennet, commented, “Reaching this financial close will enable us to support a portfolio of up to 110MW of renewable energy… We are now ready to mobilise significant private sector investment in renewable energy whilst strengthening the national and SAPP electricity markets.”
Zambian Minister of Energy Hon. Peter Chibwe Kapala, added, “The entry of GreenCo to the Zambian electricity market signifies the Government’s commitment to create a conducive environment that will attract private investments in an open, transparent and competitive electricity market. This investment will support Zambia’s development of a greener and diversified energy mix: one that creates jobs and new business opportunities, whilst at the same time positioning Zambia as the region’s power trading hub.”
GreenCo has recently awarded its first power purchase agreement tender to a 25MW pilot solar facility in Sesheke in the country’s Western Province. It has also negotiated a power purchase agreement with a large hydro facility to purchase and sell the plant’s excess generation.
Alongside conventional renewable energy IPPs, GreenCo offers a complementary approach to scaling up renewable energy investment in Zambia, helping to mitigate climate change impacts, improve security of electricity supply and increase efficiency in the country’s power sector. As members of the SAPP and with access to additional funding, the company is well positioned to demonstrate the potential of its model to transform the region’s wider renewable energy landscape.
