Govt committed to create conducive energy market, says Kapala
AN investment worth US$15.5 million has been committed to enable Africa GreenCo to scale its innovative offering as the country’s first renewable energy buyer and service provider.
The funds have been made available in partnership with InfraCo Africa, which is part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and European Union funded Electrification Financing Initiative.
Reaching this financial close will enable the institution to support a portfolio of up to 110 Megawatts of renewable energy, according to GreenCo, Chief Investment Officer, Pug Bennet.
“We are extremely grateful to our investors and our partners from Government, Zesco, the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) team and the existing SAPP members for their trust and support of innovative new business models such as GreenCo and look forward to working alongside the industry leaders as the market grows from strength to strength,” Mr Bennet said.
Speaking at the launch of the GreenCo Power Services, Energy Minister, Peter Kapala, said the company introduced to the Zambian electricity market a creditworthy buyer of renewable energy generated from Independent Power Producers.
Mr Kapala said the entry of GreenCo on the local electricity market signifies the government’s commitment to create a conducive environment that would attract private investments in an open, transparent and competitive electricity market.
He said this investment would support the country’s development of a greener and diversified energy mix, creating jobs and business opportunities.
“GreenCo Power Services Limited is the first intermediary power trader in Zambia following the enactment of the 2019 energy sector legal framework,” Mr Kapala said.
And Infra Africa’s Chief Investment Officer, Clair Jarratt, said GreenCo aimed to both increase the attractiveness of the country’s renewable energy sector to private investors and to complement wider efforts to incorporate more clean energy that new generation capacity online.
Ms Jarratt explained that this would be done with strong support from Government and Zesco.
IFU vice president, Otter Vinther Christensen, said GreenCo was an innovative business that had the potential to increase private investments in renewable energy by acting as a creditworthy intermediary between private producers of renewable energy and offtakers.