Africa’s first virtual power wheeling goes live in SA

September 04, 2025

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Leading South Africa’s leading telco Vodacom has become the first company in the country to fully operationalise virtual wheeling of electricity. This marks a major step forward for companies with a widely distributed network of operations, enabling them to tap into large-scale renewable energy from independent power producers (IPPs).

  • Virtual wheeling is an innovative mechanism that allows a company to purchase electricity from a renewable energy producer at a distant location and receive credit for it without a direct physical connection.

  • This is valuable for companies committed to decarbonisation, either for legal, financial or marketing reasons. Renewables may not be available to them locally, but now they can get access via virtual wheeling, hence boosting demand.

  • Our take: Industries with similarly distributed operations such as retail, banking, and fast-moving consumer goods are next… Read more (2 min)

The renewable energy funding space keeps growing with increased bilateral agreements as well as the entry of new funders. In August, one long-time infrastructure investor, Japan, pledged $424 million for Nigeria's power grid upgrades. CrossBoundary Energy welcomed a $40 million equity investment from new partner Impact Fund Denmark.

  • Also this month, Afreximbank, Africa’s own trade finance institution, signed a $300 million loan to Malawi to de-risk investments across multiple sectors, including energy. It also pledged $4.4 million for the 1 GW floating solar PV project in Zimbabwe.

  • In July, the sector had welcomed the first yuan-denominated financing from China Development Bank (CDB) in a 2.1 billion yuan ($290 million) loan agreement with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

  • Our take: DFIs and multilateral institutions providing funding to local commercial banks is still a big ticket… Read more (2 min)

Job board: Sun King is expanding in Madagascar

The renewables job market showed about 190 new openings in the past week. Off-grid solar company Sun King advertised 16 positions, 12 in Madagascar. The company has aggressively recruited in the past month. Its current openings might be a sign of possible operational expansion, pointing to plans that go beyond their present activities in Madagascar.

  • Off-grid energy company SunCulture is also active in recruitment. It is hiring for six Kenya-based roles, including project management and curriculum development.

  • Solar continues to take dominate in job listings across renewables.  

  • The full list of jobs is accessible here…(2 min)

Girls in Engineering participants work on a solar installation project in Kilifi, Kenya

Events

🗓️ Register for the ITW Africa event  (Sep 9)

🗓️ Attend the Sustainable Energy Conference 2025  (Sep 17)

🗓️ Sign up for the SAEEC Conference  (Oct 2)

Various 

🔋 SAWS invites bids for inverters and batteries in Cape Point

💸 Nigeria to borrow up to $2.6 billion to clear power generation debts

⚡️ Ghana to deploy solar pumps and rooftop solutions via India tie-up

🌀 WFW counsels lenders on the $300m Ras Ghareb Wind Farm investment

Seen on LinkedIn 

Panashe Mufukari, Policy and Advocacy Intern at African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, says, “The future of energy in Africa is about more than net-zero targets or new technologies. It must also be people-centred, ensuring that the hum of electricity reaches homes, schools, and communities that history has left waiting in the shadows of development.”