AFRICA CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTD

AFRICA A F R I C A C L E A N E N E R G Y S O LU T I O N S LT D

Tackling regional power shortages through biogas, biomass and solar development

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Energiser A socially responsible and progressive clean power company, ACES is helping to tackle the continent’s energy shortages by developing transformative biogas, biomass and solar projects Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Callam Waller Our story began just over a decade ago. In 2007 my business partner Melvyn Antonie and I started investigating the clean energy industry, and when the property market underwent a huge meltdown in 2008, we decided to kick on with our renewables research.”

Having spent much of his career in property development and management across Africa and Spain, Dave Kruger, now CEO of Africa Clean Energy Solutions Ltd (ACES), felt the full front of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. However, unlike many at that time, Kruger began to strategize, viewing this as an opportunity rather than a burden.

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“As we evaluated the market, it quickly became evident that Africa in particular had a huge need for clean energy,” he explains. “Considering this as a business prospect, we realised that this would not only help to significantly improve people’s lives, but also provide the prospect of attractive returns for investors.

“With the property industry very much in tatters, and with technology and skills in the renewables sphere rapidly progressing, it made sense to make the jump and become part of the launch of the ACES Group.”

Set up in 2007 as a South Africabased energy solutions company, providing rooftop installations services to corporates , the ACES Group

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS DAVE KRUGER, CEO Kruger joined the ACES Board on formation of the company in 2007, becoming CEO four years later in 2011. Having transitioned from an extensive background in property development, Kruger now has more than 10 years’ experience in the renewable energy space, helping to complete numerous developments across Africa and oversee the group’s negotiations with business partners and governments in Africa.

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quickly expanded from these humble beginnings, breaking boundaries and moving into other countries off the back of substantial investigation and due diligence .

An entrepreneurial story successfully realised, the ACES Group today stands as a key biomass, biogas and solar independent power producer in Africa, providing high quality end-toend solutions to governments, utilities, corporates and the wider industry, helping to tackle energy shortages across the continent.

“Looking back over the past decade, considering where we are now and how far we have come, I would unquestionably do it all again,” Kruger adds.

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS MELVYN ANTONIE,

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Antonie joined the Board at ACES’s inception as an Executive Director. He brings vast experience and expertise to the role, standing as an admitted attorney with a Diploma in Banking from the Manchester Business School, and helps to oversee the company’s finances, responsible for securing CAPEX for projects.

Small-scale solar projects are key to powering rural communities

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A social and economic stimulant

Established as such, ACES has amalgamated an extensive project portfolio across the continent, largely concentrating on small to medium sized plants that provide between five and 50 MW in power.

Further, driven by a sound business mindset and progressive culture, many of these projects are fundamentally transforming local communities.

One such example of this is the firm’s East London Biomass pilot project in South Africa – a social responsibility project situated along the Eastern Cape between Port Elizabeth and Durban that supplies electricity to the surrounding local community, largely for oven bread baking purposes.

“Fundamentally, our mission is to own, construct, operate and sell the energy to the governments, utilities, corporates, industrial and mining companies,” explains Kruger, “but

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at the same time we aim to provide a strong and sustainable return to our investors, while also making a positive impact on people’s lives.”

This socially responsible emphasis is equally evident throughout ACES’s construction process, with the firm similarly prioritising local partners in each of the countries that it operates in, often providing them with a minority interest in each of its projects.

“Once we have completed the development stage, deciding the exact implementation of renewable technologies and its capabilities, we will appoint an EPC contractor who will be obliged to employ and train local people in the building and operations of a project,” states Kruger. “Further, after completion, we will provide permanent jobs for local inhabitants at each location.

“Skills are always a challenge in Africa, and we do struggle with talent shortages working from this model.

ACES ensures local people are employed on its developments by contractor partners

Overseas projects are particularly popular

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AEC

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EC has built an innate understanding in design and construction management in Africa through the execution of 300 MW hybrid and 210 MW PV solar projects.

In the case of ACES Renewables’ Namibian projects, AEC was able to solve complex interface challenges by enabling optimised design and construction methodologies. Our commitment to ACES extended well beyond the EPC services by ensuring that both financial and land limitations was addressed to ensure project closure.

This combined partnership approach ensured that the project could meet both their financial and technical requirements.

T +27 12 004 0067 E info@autoconcept.biz

www.autoconcept.biz

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ACES PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT WHITE RIVER BIOMASS

Situated in Mpumalanga, South Africa, this project in development utilises biomass recovered from harvesting compartments and wood waste recovery from manufacturing plants. The wood-based biomass is then used in a boiler to power a steam turbine, in turn producing four MW of renewable energy.

UNERGY

Providing 20 MW of biogas, the Luweero, Uganda-based Unergy project uses grown energy crops to produce green energy for the grid. Energy crops produce gas through anaerobic digestion, gas that is then cleaned up and processed in a generator to produce electricity.

TANA BIOMASS

Located in Tana River County in Kenya, ACES’s Tana Biomass project is a hybrid biogas (10 MW) and solar (10 MW) project, using grown energy crops and the sun to produce green energy for the grid much like the Unergy project.

OKOTOPI VILLAGE, NAMIBIA SOLAR PV PLANTS

Reaching commercial operation in the next couple months, the Tandii Investments Solar PV Plant and NCF Energy Solar PV Plant are two five MW projects that leverage solar to produce renewable energy to the grid.

Based in the Okotopi Village in northern Namibia, both are ground mounted solar PV utility scale power parks with 25 year power purchase agreements signed.

However, there is never a lack of willing and able people who are ready to be trained and given the opportunity. By merely providing them with such, we’ve found time and time again that trained locals quickly become able to operate plants once projects are ready for commercial operation, generally over a three to five-year period.”

Its policy centred around engaging local people in this way, ACES is a crucial facilitator of economic and social upliftment in many rural areas across Africa.

Five years, 550 MW

Currently working on projects in South

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In this business, it’s so important to set targets that are realistic and achievable.

We’ve definitely learned this over the years”

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Raising finance to continue rolling out projects is a key priority for ACES

Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Namibia, with further expansion slated for 2019 and beyond, Kruger is expecting a very active and busy 24 months ahead.

“The first two of nine projects are switching on in Namibia in the next few months, while power purchase agreements in Kenya and Uganda are expected to be finalised in the first half of this year,” the Chief Exec explains.

“In terms of financing these projects, we’re hoping to raise up to $35 million through equity contributions on the Stock Exchange, while loan funding negotiations are underway.”

This, combined with the firm’s consistent and continual monitoring of

emerging industry technologies that will serve to make clean energy project development both more affordable and efficient, means ACES’s outlook for the coming year is measured yet optimistic.

Kruger concludes: “In this business, it’s so important to set targets that are realistic and achievable. We’ve definitely learned this over the years. Decisions from governments and utilities in Africa take time to materialise and therefore planning effectively and having goals are equally important.

“This in mind, over the next five years our aim is to develop 550 MW

of projects as set out in our strategy and target charter, taking into consideration all the challenges that come with the territory.”

Africa Clean Energy Solutions Ltd Tel: +27 11 530 9500 danielb@saces.co.za www.saces.co.za

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101 Oxford Road Saxonwold Johannesburg 2132 South Africa Tel: +27 11 530 9500 danielb@saces.co.za

www.saces.co.za

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