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G7 Renewable Energies expands into Mini Grid sector as decentralised generation scales up for deployment on the African continent

18th October 2018

     

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South African energy pioneers, G7 Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd, have expanded their portfolio by investing in RVE.SOL, a leading mini-grid development venture using renewable energy to foster decentralised electrification in Africa. RVE.SOL’s patented, pay-as-you-go system “KUDURA”, is a mini-grid solution with more than 6 years of proven reliability and measured outcomes.

Pioneers in wind energy, G7 has a pipeline of up to 1GW of Wind Projects in South Africa. The energy sector is evolving fast globally including digitalization of the sector and G7 is pursuing further opportunities in the broader energy space. The investment in RVE.SOL will enable G7 to be involved in facilitating growth in a sector that will revolutionize energy access in rural communities in Africa The International Energy Agency1 reported that over the last 5 years, renewable energy, off-grid and mini-grid systems have started to gain ground in Africa.

Renewable energy has provided 34% of new connections since 2012, and off-grid and mini-grid systems 6%. The IEA expects that this shift will accelerate.

The African energy sector is to face a phase of heavy deregulation over the next 10 years, creating an opportunity for private sector energy providers to enable the rural economy at the core of their business. Decentralised systems are likely to provide the most cost-effective solutions for boosting access to electricity and potable water. Off-grid and mini-grid systems provide the means for almost half of new access, underpinned by new business models using digital and mobile disruptive technologies.

Mini-grids represent some 52% of electricity access and the last 5 years the continent has seen a strong increase in mini-grid, off-grid solutions based on Renewable Energy. The market is now rapidly reaching sufficient scale to soon access to more competitive financing arrangements and necessary leverage. G7 Renewable Energies through its proven expertise in project development aims to play an active role in the innovative and sustainable application of renewable energies in Africa and in particular grid compliant mini grids.

1 (IEA) 2017 Energy Access Outlook Report
G7 believes that RVE.SOL’s pioneering technology, experience and innovative business model constitute for G7 the ideal platform to deploy rapidly and at scale grid-compliant mini-grids across Africa. RVE.SOL is one of the longest standing mini-grid developers on the continent. Starting in 2010 with its Pilot project in Sidonge (Kenya), it has refined its concept over the years and prepared a substantial portfolio of projects now ready to be built and expanded on.

G7 said: “We believe that the distributed-energy sector is a huge opportunity for electrification in Africa. Some 500 million people do not have access to electricity on the continent. The reality is that in many African countries a significant majority of rural dwellers will in the near future get their electricity from domestic solar panels and autonomous local generation and distribution networks (mini-grid and off-grid), rather than from a national grid.

In fact, mini-grid solutions have come to assist governments to reach ambitious but required electrification targets where both have a role to play together.”

How the KUDURA system works KUDURA is an integrated clean energy and water solution that provides renewable electricity and biogas, potable water and organic fertiliser where there are none. Electricity is typically provided via micro- or mini-grid while water and biogas are collected from the central location where the unit is installed.

To reliably provide these cost-effective life-changing services, KUDURA utilises world leading technology in the form of a number of discrete but integrated subsystems: a hybrid Solar Photovoltaic plant, a Biogas and organic fertiliser plant, a Water Purification plant and a Central Monitoring system for oversight of the system’s function. The system is a scaleable, self-contained, integrated and completely stand-alone renewable energy solution. Typical installations require less than 24 hours until “switch-on”.

RVE.SOL’s unique know-how and risk management systems enables each of its mini-grid to match and later follow and stimulate actual demand of the communities it serves, enabling in this way a sustained rate of returns. The sector is now rapidly transforming from dispersed and isolated initiatives to the consolidated and scaled solutions seen in the utility or infrastructure space.

The investment by G7 and other investment partners in RVE.SOL will bring high quality, renewable electricity and potable water to 15,000 people and create over 20 new community jobs in Kenya by end 2018, meeting 12 of the 17 sustainable development goals of the UNDP. RVE.SOL plans to expand this life-changing impact to other communities across East Africa by 2020, a signal that the sector is ready to unlock possibilities at scale.

Other seed investors and Infrastructure Partners include:
Egis www.egis-group.com
● EST S.A. www.est.pt
● InnoEnergy www.innoenergy.com
● RKW
● Energy for Impact


 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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