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Shell acquires West Africa’s leading provider of hybrid solar power solutions

Picture: Daystar Power

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Shell has revealed its intention to acquire Daystar Power in a bid to deliver carbon emission reductions and power cost savings to commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses in Africa.

The acquisition is expected to help Daystar Power further expand beyond West Africa and into East and Southern Africa, and help grow its installed capacity to 400 MW by 2025.

Africa’s solar C&I segment has witnessed significant demand in recent years, supporting the growth of several African renewable energy solutions providers. Earlier this month, AIIM and Helios-backed Starsight Energy agreed on its merger with SolarAfrica to develop a pipeline of some 1 GW of C&I projects across the continent.

Shell has sought to increasingly tap into Africa’s power market while divesting from some key oil assets, especially in Nigeria. At the end of 2021, it notably launched a Shell Energy Nigeria with the aim of delivering competitive and reliable energy for power generation and industrial users via gas distribution networks.

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CrossBoundary Energy and ENGIE to spend $60m on Nigerian mini-grids

CrossBoundary Energy Access Nigeria (CBEA) and ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria have announced a new project finance agreement to build $60m worth of mini-grids in Nigeria. Undea the deal, both companies target the connection of 150,000 Nigerians to electricity. CBEA will finance the development and construction activities and own the projects, while ENGIE will provide long-term operations & maintenance (O&M) services for the mini-grids.  

Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica to become one

Earlier this month, Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica have announced their merger to transform into one of the largest commercial and industrial (C&I) solar developers in Africa. The former has a regional footprint in East and West Africa, while the latter is mostly present in South Africa. The merger will notably result in the establishment of a pan-African renewable energy services provider, focused on rooftop to large-scale solar projects and backed by Helios Investment Partners (Helios) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). The merged entity will comprise a portfolio of over 220MW of operated and contracted generation capacity, and 40MWh of operational battery storage, with an additional generation pipeline exceeding 1GW. Substantial funding is expected to be allocated to South Africa, where new regulations have recently permitted wheeling and self-generation of up to 100 MW by private generators.