enca - 2 days ago

A first for Africa Ntandoyenkosi… Sun, 10/26/2025 - 09:30 JOHANNESBURG - Granville Energy, a pan-African renewable-energy company, has signed a US$1.1 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited.The deal will see Granville Energy develop Africa’s first 1 GW floating solar power plant at Kainji Dam, Nigeria — one of the continent’s largest and most ambitious renewable projects to date. Under the agreement, Granville Energy will serve as developer and constructor of the project, while Mainstream Energy Solutions will act as the power off-taker, responsible for purchasing and distributing the generated electricity. The project begins with a 100 MW pilot phase (US$110 million) and will expand to 1 GW, making it the largest floating solar facility in Sub-Saharan Africa and among the biggest globally. It aims to strengthen regional energy security, drive industrialization, and create thousands of jobs through local manufacturing of solar components. The initiative directly supports Africa’s decarbonization targets and advances the African Union’s Agenda 2063 goals for sustainable, inclusive growth. Floating solar technology is an alternative method of generating electricity that uses panels installed on infrastructure that is located on bodies of water like dams and reservoirs. It has the benefit of generating clean electricity through the solar panels, while the water beneath them serves to cool them. This helps to improve the efficiency of the solar panels and can even contribute to improving water quality. Tabi T. Tabi, CEO of Granville Energy, explains why this is agreement is such a game-changer for Africa. “For Africa, this is a game-changer because it makes use of existing water infrastructure like dams and reservoirs, without competing for land that’s needed for agriculture or housing. It’s smart, space-efficient, and perfectly suited to our climate and development needs. It also helps reduce evaporation losses from the dam and improves the long-term sustainability of the water resource — so it’s a win for both energy and the environment.” Given recent conversations about the scale of Africa s energy sector and how that can serve to improve local economies and generate jobs, Tabi has expressed a commitment to the local manufacturing of solar panels and to strengthening the African continental ecosystem.According to him, the project represents more than electricity generation, but the opportunity to create jobs, both directly and indirectly. It also represents an opportunity for more African countries to move away from an import-model of the skills and technologies used in the African energy sector. This is part of his and his company’s vision of a “solar value chain” across Africa. When asked about this vision, Tabi says that “The Kainji project is our blueprint for that vision. By integrating design, manufacturing, construction, and operation all within Africa, we’re proving that the full value chain can exist here. Ultimately, we want to see African countries trading clean-energy components with each other — building regional resilience and reducing dependency on imports.” The first phase of the project, which is expected to generate up to 100 MW of clean energy, will begin once the agreement is finalised and will be looking at generating energy within the next two years. This will be the pilot phase and will provide the first wave of new jobs, skills, and more reliable energy to the people of West Africa. Once in place, Granville will be scaling up to 1 GW generation capacity, and each phase will introduce with it a new wave of jobs and skills to the continent. But this is just the beginning. Tabi says that they are already in “advanced discussions with partners in Southern, Central, and East Africa to identify suitable hydropower reservoirs and inland water bodies for similar floating solar installations. Our goal is to create a network of hybrid solar-hydro systems across the continent — scalable, sustainable, and led by Africans. This isn’t a one-off success it’s the start of Africa’s clean-energy industrialisation journey.” Tabi T. Tabi is the CEO of Granville Energy, a Johannesburg-based renewable energy company focused on providing innovative and community-focused energy solutions.

Latest News

Hashtags:   

first

 | 

Africa

 | 

Sources