Leading Middle East solar developer enters South Africa after raising $400 million in equity for sustainable energy projects
Yellow Door Energy (YDE), the foremost sustainable energy partner for businesses in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, has officially entered the South African market. This follows a $400 million equity raise with global investors Actis, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”) and APICORP. With the conclusion of this landmark transaction, Yellow Door Energy’s business plan is fully funded, and the management team is now focused on executing sustainable energy solutions over the next five years, with a portfolio value expected to exceed $1 billion.
Yellow Door Energy’s emergence into South Africa comes at an opportune time to provide solar and energy storage solutions to address rolling blackouts in the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, along with various government departments, has recently engaged in negotiations to expedite the integration of renewable energy into the national grid. This is part of a bid to bridge the 4,000MW to 6,000MW energy deficit across the country
Jeremy Crane, CEO & Founder of Yellow Door Energy, said: “We are excited to be establishing a presence in the South African market, one of the most dynamic markets in the renewable energy space.” With 200 megawatts of solar assets, we’re supporting the transition towards a more diversified power system and believe that distributed energy is a major contributor to solving South Africa’s energy shortage. Yellow Door Energy is committed to enhancing the overall sustainability of the region, both from an energy perspective, as well as in improving social equity and local development.”
Challenges make for immense opportunity
Mohamed Madhi, Country Director for South Africa at Yellow Door Energy, stated: “With over 80 megawatts of operating solar wheeling projects, Yellow Door Energy offers strength, knowledge and experience to develop solar assets in the South African market.”
South African companies within the commercial and industrial sector encounter a host of diverse challenges as far as electricity supply is concerned, including:
- Dependence on electricity from national grid and power outages, load shedding
- High electricity costs with high annual tariff escalation
- Non-renewable electricity sources and their impact on the environment and corporate sustainability
According to Madhi, “Yellow Door Energy is well positioned to support businesses through solar power purchase agreements (“PPA’s”) that can contain on-site solar PV, wheeling and battery storage solutions. Through these agreements, private offtakers are empowered to control their energy costs and eliminate supply volatility.”
With operations in the UAE, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and South Africa, Yellow Door Energy has one of the largest commercial & industrial project portfolios in the region, with 106 megawatts in operation and 104 megawatts awarded and under construction. The company has key existing relationships with a large customer base of over 50 companies, including multi-national businesses such as Nestlé, Majid Al Futtaim, DHL, Mondelēz, and Unilever.
Yellow Door Energy has been powering emerging economies reliably, efficiently, and sustainably since its inception in 2015. Combining global reach and local expertise, Yellow Door Energy’s mission is to be the sustainable energy partner of choice for leading businesses, significantly reducing their electricity costs, improving power reliability, and enhancing their sustainability leadership through minimising carbon emissions. As such, the company directly supports net zero emission targets set by countries and companies worldwide, ultimately mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change.
