Clean Energy

Key Achievements in 2021

Highlights of 2021

Climate Investment Mandate 

One of the most significant developments in 2021 was the announcement that Norfund would manage the new Climate Investment Mandate for Renewable Energy. “It is a great honour that the Norwegian Government gives Norfund this responsibility”, said CEO Tellef Thorleifsson. 

"The growth in energy demand in developing countries is enormous”, explained Thorleifsson. “We have experience from the most relevant markets and a network of partners, and we are confident that we can put the capital to work effectively and in line with host country energy plans.”

One billion NOK of Norfund’s capital and one billion NOK from the state budget will be set aside annually over five years for a NOK 10 billion capital base.   

The money will be administered by Norfund’s Clean Energy team, bringing an even greater emphasis on renewable energy with the mandate to combat climate change in Official Development Assistance countries.

To read more about this highlight, click here.

Sale of SN Power 

The sale of SN Power closed in early 2021, with Norfund selling the company to the Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec for 1.166 million USD. As part of the transaction, Scatec and Norfund agreed to establish a new joint venture for hydropower in Africa. Norfund also retained ownership of SN Power’s stakes in hydropower plants in Zambia and Panama. The sale released capital for reinvestment in renewable energy. 

As investor in SN Power, Norfund was instrumental in developing hydropower projects in developing countries. SN Power plants produce power equivalent to the electricity consumption of 7 million people and help avoid 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. 

Read more about the significance of this sale in last year’s annual report.

Growth in Globeleq 

Globeleq is a leading independent power producer in Africa which develops, owns and operates power plants utilising various technologies across the African continent. The company is headquartered in London and has operations in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Norfund and CDC partnered to invest in Globeleq in 2015. 

Two projects were under construction during 2021: Malindi Solar photovoltaic plant in Kenya and an expansion of Azito gas-fired power plant in Cote d’Ivoire. 

In late 2021 Malindi was completed and started supplying power to the national grid in December 2021. The power plant is delivering enough clean and renewable power to supply approximately 250,000 residential customers and will avoid 44,500 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions annually. 

Globeleq had two new projects reach financial close, both in Mozambique: The 450 MW Temane power plant, and the Cuamba solar/battery project. The company was also named as preferred bidder, together with Mainstream, for 1,400 MW of renewables in the South African renewable auction – a major milestone for the company. 

In 2021 Globeleq paid a USD 15m dividend to Norfund. 

Fourth Partner Energy – Enabling clean energy transition for India’s commercial and industrial businesses  

Fourth Partner Energy is India’s leading distributed renewable energy company, focused on building and financing energy solutions for commercial & industrial businesses. In June 2021 Norfund committed 100 million USD, the largest Norfund investment to date in India. TPG’s RISE fund committed an additional 25 million USD alongside Norfund. 

With an asset base of 850+ MW across both rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations – the firm is diversifying to offer customised clean energy solutions including wind-solar hybrid, floating solar, battery storage and EV charging infrastructure. Fourth Partner Energy is head-quartered in Hyderabad and has a pan-India presence with offices in 11 cities. The company has executed projects for over 150 marquee clients like Walmart, Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Skoda, Akzo Nobel, Schneider Electric, Ferrero, Mars, TCS and the Mahindra Group.  

H1 partnership in South Africa 

In late 2021 Norfund, together with Macquarie-managed UK Climate Investments, announced funding for a joint venture partnership between H1 Holdings and Pele Green Energy to develop wind power assets in South Africa. This is one of South Africa’s largest renewable energy equity deals valued at around 100 million USD. The investment will aim to accelerate South Africa’s transition to a low carbon economy. 

The resulting projects will contribute to avoid an average of 2.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, or 43.8 million tonnes over the lifetime of the projects. That is equivalent to the emissions of half of the total number of cars in Norway. 

In total Norfund committed 403 million NOK to the H1/Pele joint venture in 2021. 

New partnerships and projects 

In addition to supporting existing investees such as Globeleq, Serengeti Energy, M-Kopa and Greenlight Planet, in 2021 Norfund built new partnerships in hydropower, distributed solar and off-grid energy supply: 

• In the Philippines Norfund committed 77 million NOK to the Kiangan hydropower project. This is a 17,5 MW hydropower plant in the Philippines being developed by the Japanese renewable energy company Renova and local partner Alternergy and St Clara International. 

• In Vietnam a 360 million NOK equity commitment was made to Green Roof Asia, a distributed generation company. This investment was made in partnership with Climate Fund Managers and Shire Oak International. 

• In Cambodia, Norfund participated in a syndicate to provide USD 30m of debt financing to the 78 MWp Prime Road solar power plant – one of the first utility scale solar projects in the country. 

• Norfund provided a loan of 9 million EUR in co-operation with the debt fund Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI – also a Norfund investee) to Aktivco, a subsidiary of Camusat Holding which provides energy service solutions to telecom towers owned by mobile network operators. AktivCo has incorporated five subsidiaries in Niger, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso where the energy services are being provided. 

• In the off-grid space, we made a 10 million EUR equity investment in Baobab+, the leading distributor of solar home systems in West Africa and Madagascar. Baobab+, a Pan-African group already present in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Madagascar, has equipped 220,000 households and served more than 1,200,000 beneficiaries in the past five years. This funding will allow the company to strengthen its presence in its existing countries and extend operations in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.