IE signs investment deal with Alten RE for up to 600 MW of sub-Saharan Africa PV projects

The investment was made by the Evolution II Fund owned by IE, and will scale the subsidiary of Spanish Independent Power Producer, Alten Energías Renovables, Alten Africa’s existing solar PV development platform across sub-Saharan Africa

Opportunities in 225 MWp of construction-ready and advanced projects in three of its priority countries will be offered to the Evolution II fund by Alten Africa. In other countries in the same region, an additional 400 MWp pipeline of opportunities are available.

In the near-term, the partnership aims to bring up to 500 MW online. This includes: The construction-ready Hardap Project, which is a 45.45 MWp solar PV project in Namibia near Mariental; the 51.5 MWp Kesses 1 Project in Kenya, which is in the final financial phases; and the 125 MWp Middle Band Solar One project in Nigeria, which has a signed power purchase agreement.

Managing Partner at IE, Christopher Clarke confirmed that many attributes of the Alten-IE partnership have the potential to make it an important player in the renewables market in sub-Saharan Africa.

Juan Laso, executive president at Alten Energías added that he believes the partnership consolidates the venture Alten initiated 5 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The experience of Alten, together with the local knowledge, capacity and vision of Inspired Evolution create a perfect combination to succeed and to satisfy the vast energy needs of the region with solar PV technology,” he said.

In May, Alten won the rights to develop a 45.5 MW solar farm in Namibia, which is set to become the largest PV plant in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa, once completed. Construction is scheduled to begin earyl this year; once completed, the solar plant will meet 3% of Namibia’s power needs.