Renewable Power

ELECTRICITY TRADING 

Etana Energy, in which Chariot holds an economic interest of 34% along with H1 Holdings (Pty) Limited (“H1”) (economic interest (36%)), Norfund (economic interest (20%)) and Standard Bank (economic interest (10%)), is focused on providing competitive, sustainable end-to-end energy solutions through the connecting of power generation projects to commercial and industrial users by aggregating and wheeling electricity across South Africa’s national grid. H1, which co-founded Etana along with Chariot, is a black-owned and managed company based in South Africa which has a proven track record in developing and investing in large renewable projects.

Etana has developed a “many generators to many offtakers” business model and is effectively building a new utility business as it looks to supply competitively priced, cleaner power to some of South Africa’s largest commercial and industrial users.

• Over 20 long-term Power Purchase Agreements (“PPAs”) have been signed with some of the largest electricity consumers in country including Growthpoint, Autocast, Petra Diamonds, Tharisa and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and work is ongoing in signing further offtake PPAs.
• The offtake of the initial generation is already oversubscribed by 50% which is indicative of the high demand and future growth potential and the ability to harness wind both day and night to complement solar energy output offers a reliable path to much needed sustainable supply for energy-intensive businesses.
• Through this platform Chariot is tapping into a wide and essential network, one that could become one of the most influential businesses in facilitating, installing, and delivering greener, competitive and sustainable energy across South Africa’s national grid over the next decade.
• This business connects efficient supply to end users through the trading platform but it also enables the development of new, renewable energy generation, in which the Power business is also participating.

THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY

South Africa’s energy market is the largest on the continent. It has historically been controlled by the state-owned entity Eskom and predominantly relied on coal as the main source of the country’s power. South Africa has experienced significant electricity supply issues for a long time with many instances of load shedding and power outages and there is a need for new energy to fill the gap as a number of coal-fired power stations are coming to end of life.

With a forecasted additional power requirement of 30GW needed by 2030 and to address the supply and demand gap, the Government permitted private electricity generation with a focus on renewable power as a long-term energy source. The Government also granted trading licences which allows private companies to buy and sell electricity through the national grid and sell it onto customers. This wide scale deregulation created a material market opportunity and Etana was one of the first companies to apply for and receive a trading licence from NERSA, the South African regulator.