SOUTH AFRICA – Électricité de France (EDF), the French energy giant, is acquiring 50% of Distributed Power Africa (DPA), a Cassava Technologies business, seeking to develop hybrid energy solutions for businesses in SA.
The partnership will bring to life 75MW of green energy projects that DPA has in SA, targeted at commercial and industrial customers.
“South Africa is facing long hours of load-shedding and increasing electricity costs. This partnership comes at an opportune time where the country is pushing for an updated renewable energy policy, and the world is facing a sudden rise in diesel costs,” said Norman Moyo, CEO of DPA.
“As a business of Cassava Technologies, our achievements and initiatives ensure we enable social mobility and the economic prosperity of individuals and businesses across the continent through increased access to innovative technologies.”
SA is suffering crippling power shortages that have taken a toll on business. Power utility Eskom has of late been implementing unprecedented onerous load-shedding.
The power utility has been struggling with maintaining a steady power supply due to a myriad of issues, including aging infrastructure and other legacy issues.
Resultantly, more companies are turning to renewable energy, opting to go off the grid − an opportunity DPA and EDF hope to capture.
DPA is already among the renewable energy companies that have been contracted by various businesses for green energy installations.
According to Moyo, the EDF investment will allow DPA to generate hundreds of new construction jobs in the country, adding a much-needed boost to the local economy.
“We are excited about once again partnering with DPA as we extend our footprint on the African continent. Both companies have a proven history of joint energy operations in Kenya,” Béatrice Buffon, EDF group senior executive vice-president, international division, said.
“This partnership represents an opportunity for EDF to deliver comprehensive and low-carbon energy solutions suitable for African C&I needs and allows us to enlarge our portfolio of activities on the continent where we already have large hydro power projects under development and are invested in a portfolio of off-grid companies.
“It contributes to achieving one of the main goals in our CAP 2030 strategy: to triple our operations on an international scale compared to 2015.”
DPA is a market leader in innovative solar energy solutions. We have operations in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Part of the Cassava Technologies Group of Companies, Distributed Power Africa (DPA) supplies Commercial and Industrial customers with efficient, green solar energy installations without an initial capital outlay.
DPA has already commissioned projects for Commercial & Industrial companies like Makro, Builders Warehouse, Africa Data Centres, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies in South Africa.
The company’s distributed energy strategy aligns with the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, which anticipates decommissioning most coal-fired power stations by 2030.
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