Page 13 - AfrElec Week 03 2021

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IFU leads $38m round in

Daystar Power

The Investment Fund for Developing
Countries (IFU), the Danish development
finance institution, has led a Series B
investment round of $38m in Daystar Power,
a provider of hybrid solar power solutions to
businesses in West Africa.
irrigation. an effective way to secure the production “We believe that Daystar Power has the
The future plant, whose construction will of renewable energy plants that depend on right elements — the client base, technology,
require an investment of 739mn dollars, will natural conditions, notably the sun and wind, engineering expertise, and executive
contribute to the Egyptian government’s whose intensity can change, impacting the leadership - to scale off-grid solar across
policy to counter terrorism in the Sinai production of electricity. West Africa. Not only is Daystar Power at the
Peninsula through investments in sustainable In practical terms, hydrogen makes it forefront of a growing market, it is helping to
infrastructure. The project is also part of possible to store excess electricity produced accelerate the adoption of renewable energy
the Egyptian government’s national strategy at certain times and return it later; a good in some of Africa’s fastest growing cities,”
to preserve the country’s dwindling water alternative for stabilising national electricity said Thomas Hougaard, Vice President Sub-
resources. grids in Africa where some countries are Saharan Africa, IFU.
increasingly relying on renewable energy in IFU is joined by new investors STOA, a
their electrification strategies. By embarking French impact infrastructure fund, Proparco,
on green hydrogen, Egypt joins Morocco, backed by a guarantee from the European
HYDROGEN which is exploring this solution in partnership Union under the African Renewable Energy
with Germany. Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up) and Morgan
Germany’s Siemens Stanley Investment Management.
“STOA is excited to start this
launches studies for Egypt METERING journey alongside Daystar which is
perfectly positioned to provide reliable,
green hydrogen project environmentally friendly and cheap electricity
to businesses across West Africa. This
The Egyptian government has signed an Ibadan DisCo Distributes investment reflects a core part of our mission
agreement with the German group Siemens 104,000 Meters in Nigeria – we aim to invest more than 50% of our
to launch discussions and studies for the capital in Africa and in renewable energies,”
development of a green hydrogen production Under the National Mass Metering Program, said Charles-Henri Malecot, CEO, STOA.
project in the land of the pharaohs. the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Taking into account the previous round by
Egypt is entering the global race for the (IBEDC) began the distribution of 104,000 Verod Capital and Persistent Energy, Daystar
production of green hydrogen, presented free meters in Ibadan, Oyo State on Power has received equity investments
as the energy solution of the future. The Wednesday. totaling $48m.
Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Introduced by President Muhammadu With the fundraise, Daystar Power will
Renewable Energies, Mohamed Shaker, Buhari last August, the Program aims to grow its operations in its key markets of
recently signed an agreement with Joe Kaiser, distribute 6mn meters across the country, in Nigeria and Ghana, while deepening its
the CEO of the German group Siemens, for an effort to boost the national metering rate presence in other regional countries such as
discussions and studies aimed at developing a and do away with arbitrary estimated billing. Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.
green hydrogen production project in Egypt. One million meters have been distributed as Daystar Power is on track to expand its
Minister Mohamed Shaker sees this part of the first rollout. installed capacity to over 100 megawatts,
partnership as part of the Egyptian “We are here to launch the National Mass meeting demand from its clients in the
government’s strategy to balance the country’s Metering for the Federal Government. These financial services, manufacturing, agricultural
electricity mix with renewable energies. This are free meters, so customers are not paying and natural resources sectors.
policy of sustainable development has led for it. The essence is to discourage estimated Daystar Power will continue to enhance its
in recent years to the development of major billing that a lot of customers have been digital offerings and expand its local teams.
clean energy projects such as the Benban complaining about,” said Ayo Adio, Head of “Proparco is delighted to support the
photovoltaic solar complex in the governorate Customer Support, IBEDC. “We believe that growth of Daystar Power (DSP) which
of Aswan, which will eventually inject 1.65 within a few weeks, most of the customers represents our third commitment under the
GWp into Egypt’s national electricity network. that are designated for meters will have them ARESUF facility backed by the European
The country is also in turn developing installed in their premises.” Union. In line with Proparco’s objectives
its wind energy production capacity with The metering initiative provides loan of improving energy access and reducing
installations concentrated in the Gulf of Suez, facility to both DisCos and local meter greenhouse gas emissions, this funding will
at the risk of lastingly disrupting the journey manufacturers – in turn, p enable DSP to expand reliable power supply at
of migratory birds. Green hydrogen may be competitive cost to West Africa’s C&I sector,”

Week 03 21•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13