Zambia: InfraCo Africa backs renewable energy company GreenCo
InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed a convertible loan agreement with Africa GreenCo Group to progress an innovative approach to building Zambia’s renewable energy capacity. InfraCo Africa has leveraged $500,000 of funding from PIDG Technical Assistance to support wider work to develop the initial operational capability of GreenCo’s Lusaka-based company, GreenCo Power Services.
GreenCo will act as an intermediary renewable energy buyer and services provider. The company’s operations will complement the Government of Zambia’s vision for the electricity sector as set out in the National Energy Policy 2019 and the subsequent new energy sector legal and regulatory framework. This represents an important step in scaling-up renewable energy investment to help mitigate climate change impacts, improve security of supply, and increase efficiency in the power sector whilst leveraging Zambia’s geographical position in the Southern African Power Pool.
Gilles Vaes, InfraCo Africa’s chief executive officer said that “GreenCo’s initiative of intermediary power off-taker and power trading company is highly innovative and will help the Zambian electricity sector prepare for the future, working together with ZESCO and other key sector stakeholders. The challenges of developing new renewable electricity production in Zambia are great and will require the combined efforts of initiatives such as GreenCo’s and ZESCO’s continued support of IPPs in the foreseeable future. We look forward to working with GreenCo in helping it to become operational.”
Managing director of ZESCO, Victor Mundende said, “Innovative solutions such as GreenCo could play an important part in providing alternative off-taker participation in the Zambian electricity supply industry, to make new generation projects more easily bankable whilst encouraging the maturation of electricity markets to encourage electricity trade. We look forward to working with GreenCo to deliver a mutually beneficial business model.”
CEO of GreenCo, Ana Hajduka added, “We should like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Zambia, our industry partners and particularly IDC, for their leadership role to date. Our sincere gratitude goes to ZESCO, the Department of Energy, ERB, OPPPI, the Zambian NDA/MNDP and EAZ, and the funders who have supported GreenCo to this point. Their continued support, plus the investments made by IFU, PIDG and InfraCo Africa are invaluable for the future success of GreenCo. We commend our investors’ continued support of a partnership that delivers clean and affordable electricity to Zambia and, on expansion of GreenCo’s activities, to the region.”
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