Infinity Power, a joint venture between Egypt's Infinity and UAE's Masdar, has completed the acquisition of the entire shareholding of Lekela Power.
Article continues below
The transaction makes Infinity Power the largest renewable energy company on the African continent. Infinity's key stakeholders include Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Lekela currently operates 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind power projects in South Africa, Egypt and Senegal, and has a 1.8 GW project pipeline, which are in various stages of development.
The transaction was funded through equity investment from shareholders and debt from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (Absa CIB) and Mauritian Commercial Bank (MCB)
Infinity Power was established in 2020 to develop utility-scale and distributed solar energy and wind power projects in Africa.
Infinity Power's total capacity of operational projects is 1.3 GW, which equates to a reduction of more than 3 million tons of CO2 emissions per year using conventional power generation.
The company also has 13.8 GW of projects in the pipeline at different stages of development.
Established in 2015, Lekela Power was previously owned 60 percent Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and 40 percent by a consortium, led by global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power, called Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holdings ('MRPAH').
Africa's installed renewable capacity is set to grow from 54 GW in 2020 to more than 530 GW by 2040, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), with solar PV soaring to 340 GW, and wind rising to 90 GW.
Increasing renewable energy resources will also drive energy access, with almost half of Africa's population still without access to electricity.
With current projects located in Egypt, South Africa, Senegal and Ghana, Infinity Power aims to expand its operations in markets across all 54 African countries, providing electricity to all locations in Africa, which are in most need of power. ■