Norfund and KLP Invests $40 Million in CBE to Scale Green Energy Business in Africa

The Norwegian development finance institution Norfund and pension company KLP are launching a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for a $40 million investment in CrossBoundary Energy (CBE). The SPV named KLP Norway Investments AS will allow the scaling of CBE’s investments in clean energy solutions for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in Africa.

The $40 million funding for CBE is a continuation of KLP and Norfund’s earlier investments in the C&I sector and endorses the scale of distributed generation sector. The new investment is in addition to the $40 million funding in equity by ARCH Emerging Markets Partners’ Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARCH ARPF) in November 2020.

CrossBoundary Energy, the Nairobi-based company finances, installs, and leases clean energy plants to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. The company is currently delivering a portfolio of solar, wind, and battery storage facilities worth $188 million. It includes 150 MWp of solar PV, 50 MWp of battery storage, and 12 MWp of wind assets.

According to Pieter, President and Chief Investment Officer of CrossBoundary Energy, the company is looking forward to leveraging Norfund’s experience in building an operational portfolio of more than $300 million in assets in the next five years. “The investment validates CrossBoundary Energy’s position as a trusted provider of customer-centric renewable energy solutions to the African business community,”  Joubert commented.

Kristoffer Valvik, Investment Manager of Norfund said the renewable energy, coupled with battery energy storage systems, allows power producers to provide the C&I business sector with significant cost savings and reduce emissions. CBE has a secured leading portfolio of clean energy assets to scale the C&I renewable energy sector.

Aage Schaanning, Group Chief Financial Officer in KLP, commented, “We are pleased to support the further development of CrossBoundary Energy’s portfolio of distributed renewable energy systems and are confident that its strong business practices will boost sustainable economic development on the African continent and deliver stable and predictable returns for KLPs owners.”