Online Reporter
Just two years after winning the backing of one of the world’s biggest green infrastructure investors, a little-known South African company is rapidly redrawing the country’s energy map.
Mulilo Renewable Energy Limited, which got a US$200 million investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) in 2023, has since won more utility-scale battery projects in SA than any other rival, despite a growing number of competitive entries.
The capital injection from CIP, a private equity manager based in Denmark, is helping Mulilo rapidly challenge the dominance of state-owned monopoly Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.
Founded in 2008, Mulilo is now positioning itself “to shape the future of the energy market in South Africa”, CEO Jan Fourie said in an interview at the firm’s Cape Town headquarters.
The company is now focused on reaching financial close on R36 billion (US$2 billion) of projects this year.
SA’s energy markets have long been ripe for a reset after years of corruption and mismanagement left the country plagued by constant blackouts. While the government began sourcing renewable energy from private producers more than a decade ago, frequent breakdowns at Eskom’s coal-fired power plants helped open the door to a growing sector that includes clean energy producers and electricity traders.
Eskom, which still generates more than 80 percent of SA’s electricity from coal, has said it plans to build its own renewable energy and storage capacity.
The grid, which Eskom needs to reinforce to accommodate more renewable generation by building 14 000 km of transmission line over the next decade, presents its own challenge. — Bloomberg
