Solarcentury Africa celebrates commercial operation of its 19.3 MWp Gerus solar plant in Namibia

Gerus Solar Plant Operational

The Gerus plant is only the second purpose‑built merchant solar plant in Africa to trade electricity on the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), following Solarcentury Africa’s 25 MWp Mailo solar plant in Zambia, which entered commercial operation in July 2025. Construction is already underway on the third such project, the 34 MWp Phase 2 expansion at Mailo, expected to reach commercial operation in Q2 2026.

Developed in partnership with Sino Energy (Pty) Limited and delivered in just 12 months, Gerus is now selling electricity into the SAPP, becoming the first merchant solar plant in Namibia to do so. The project represents a major step forward for competitive, market‑based power generation in the region and further consolidates Solarcentury Africa’s position as a leader in merchant renewable energy.

“We are incredibly proud to see Gerus reach commercial operation,” said Jason de Carteret, CEO of Solarcentury Africa. “This project demonstrates what is possible through strong local partnerships, technical excellence and a shared commitment to accelerating access to clean, reliable and affordable energy across Southern Africa.”

The Gerus solar plant is wholly owned by Solarcentury Africa. Funding for the project was provided by BB Energy, the leading independent energy trading group and parent company of Solarcentury Africa. The electricity generated at Gerus will be sold by Solarcentury Trading, a member of the SAPP, underscoring the strategic importance of trading‑led power assets to the group’s evolution.

Mohamed Bassatne, Group CEO of BB Energy, commented:

“The transition to cleaner energy is a central pillar of our strategy and a defining element of BB Energy future transformation. Projects such as Gerus clearly demonstrate how our capabilities in sourcing, trading, generating, transporting and distributing energy globally can be applied to renewable markets.

“We firmly believe that the trading of electricity will be a key driver of BB Energy’s future growth, strengthening our leadership position while supporting a faster, market‑driven transition to cleaner energy. The establishment of our dedicated power trading team in Geneva earlier this year further underlines our long‑term ambition in this space.”

Solarcentury Africa extends its sincere thanks to its Namibian partners Alensy Energy Solutions (EPC), Sino Energy (development partner) and Nexus (land partner). The company also acknowledges the support of NamPower, the Electricity Control Board of Namibia and the Southern African Power Pool for their collaboration in delivering the project on schedule.

Key project metrics:

• Up to 275 jobs created during construction, with over 98% filled by Namibians, alongside significant skills transfer and training.

• Approximately 50.8 GWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power more than 14,000 Namibian homes.

• An estimated reduction of c. 17,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.

• Around USD 20 million of international funding, representing the largest UK investment in Namibia’s clean energy sector to date.

Looking ahead, Solarcentury Africa is on track to develop, own and operate more than 320 MWp of fully merchant solar capacity by 2027, supported by strong local partnerships and international investment. Together with BB Energy, these initiatives play a critical role in addressing regional energy deficits while accelerating the transition to sustainable, market‑based power solutions.