Commercial solar provider Starsight merges with South Africa’s SolarAfrica

Renewable energy services provider, Starsight Energy, and South African-based solar firm, SolarAfrica Energy, has announced a merger agreement that will transform the entity into one of the continent’s leading commercial and industrial solar provider, the company said in a statement.

The merger, which is subject to standard regulatory approvals including anti-trust approvals, comes amidst changes in South African renewable energy regulations. The merger will create the first truly Pan-African renewable energy services provider as the world shifts towards a greener and cleaner energy sources, the company said.

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.

Alongside the merger, funds managed by AIIM have committed substantial further funding to the South African subsidiary of the merged entity, to progress the build-out of the contracted pipeline in the C&I wheeling market in South Africa, providing energy security and certainty of pricing to large C&I customers.

Tony Carr, Starsight Energy’s Group Chief Executive Officer, says “This merger demonstrates our joint commitment to expand our footprint across Africa. With SolarAfrica, the new combined group becomes one of the largest commercial providers of reliable and clean energy solutions to the commercial and industrial sector across the continent.”

Starsight Energy was founded in 2015 and is backed by Helios and AIIM, a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments. It offers reliable and sustainable energy and cooling solutions – on- and off-grid – to the C&I sectors, with operations in East and West Africa with over 656 sites in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

“The merger will enable efficiencies across the group, ranging from procurement to funding, and further allow for the rollout of our proprietary technology platform across the continent. These efficiencies will assist the group in providing a unique and valuable offering, that takes customers on a green energy journey to solve their power struggles and enables a sustainable future for their businesses,” says David McDonald, SolarAfrica Energy co founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Founded in 2011, SolarAfrica has built up extensive experience in delivering state-of-the-art energy solutions through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to businesses across Southern Africa.

It has evolved from a specialist provider of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems to a full-service provider of capex-free, green energy solutions ranging from solar and battery storage options through to wheeling and electricity trading to the C&I market.