In this exclusive interview, Saul, CEO of Sun Exchange, discusses the company’s pivotal role in advancing solar energy across South Africa and beyond. Saul provides insights into emerging trends, innovative solar solutions for high-impact sectors, and overcoming challenges in Africa’s renewable energy landscape. He also shares Sun Exchange’s vision for expanding sustainable energy access through fully funded projects and strategic partnerships, driving long-term growth and impact.
1. Sun Exchange has been at the forefront of deploying commercial solar projects across South Africa. What current trends in the solar energy sector do you find most promising, and how is Sun Exchange leveraging these trends to enhance its offerings?
We are excited by several trends currently shaping the solar energy sector in South Africa. One of the most significant is the liberalisation of the energy market. The introduction of South Africa’s Climate Change Bill, which enforces carbon budgets and emission reduction targets, also will drive demand for cleaner energy as businesses seek to comply with new standards. The reduction in load shedding is largely due to the rapid deployment of distributed solar resources by the private sector. However, solar energy still constitutes less than 10% of the total energy production, indicating significant room for growth.
The declining cost of renewables makes solar energy more accessible and affordable. This is crucial in South Africa, where electricity costs have risen by 653% between 2006 and 2022, with further drastic increases planned. We leverage this trend by developing scalable solar solutions that reduce energy costs for our clients. Our focus is on providing fully funded solar projects, ensuring even mid-sized organisations can transition to solar power.
Our ability to attract corporate funding for solar projects has also been crucial. In 2023, 82% of our new project funding came from corporate and institutional partners. This support has allowed us to expand our project pipeline to approximately ZAR 1 Billion (~£42 million), with significant commitments from funding partners like Jaltech. These partnerships enable us to source, develop, oversee construction, and manage the operation of solar projects, ensuring we meet the growing demand for renewable energy.
2. The renewable energy sector in Africa faces unique challenges. From your perspective, what are the most significant obstacles, and how is Sun Exchange addressing these to ensure the effective deployment of solar solutions?
The deployment of solar energy faces unique challenges worldwide, and Africa is no exception – our challenges are not homogenous across the continent and can vary greatly between countries. In South Africa, financing can be a major obstacle, particularly for midsized businesses and organisations that don’t want to be saddled with expensive debt to fund a solar plant. The permitting process can also be a challenge for organisations looking to go solar, as requirements, processes and timelines vary quite significantly between different municipalities, sectors or depending on whether the project ties into the Eskom grid.
Our approach to these challenges has been to pioneer Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that are accessible to mid-sized businesses and organisations, not just mega-projects as they have been previously. This allows us to provide projects that are fully funded, with the offtaker paying only an affordable monthly rate, and fully managed from start to finish including design, all permitting and licensing requirements, installation, and ongoing insurance, operations and maintenance throughout the projects’ lifetime. When the risks associated with going solar are eliminated, the benefits of going solar become accessible to a much broader base of business and organisations.
3. With Sun Exchange serving high-impact sectors such as education, agriculture, and nonprofits, what innovative solutions or technologies are you implementing to meet the specific needs of these diverse clients?
At Sun Exchange, we leverage our extensive expertise and long history in the renewable energy sector to deliver fully managed and monitored solar solutions, virtually eliminating risk for our clients and enabling them to focus on their core activities without the burden of managing a solar plant. Our solar-with-storage systems are beneficial for schools, farms, retirement homes and businesses that need a reliable and uninterrupted power supply, essential for daily operations and the well-being of those they serve.
Our funding model ensures that even organisations with limited financial resources can benefit from solar energy. Our projects offer fully funded options with no upfront capital cost, and only a monthly bill for energy generated, making solar power more affordable for energy consumers.
Our focus on energy resilience also sets us apart. By offering options to incorporate battery storage into our solar projects, or design projects that are battery-ready should the need arise, we ensure that clients are well positioned to maintain operations even during power outages.
In South Africa, the extensive grid infrastructure allows us to export excess power. This is particularly beneficial for institutions like schools, which only use power about 200 days a year. With storage added to these projects, there is an opportunity for energy arbitrage, taking advantage of the liberalised regulatory framework and the structural need for more power.
In the agricultural sector, we design custom solar solutions to address specific energy needs, such as powering irrigation systems and dairy operations. By providing affordable and sustainable energy, we help farmers reduce operational costs and increase productivity, thereby enhancing food security.
4. With your extensive background in strategic finance, business models, and systems, how have these experiences influenced your leadership approach at Sun Exchange, particularly in scaling the company and managing rapid growth?
I believe success is only possible through those who support and work with you. A values-first approach means prioritising our team and all our stakeholders. We look to partner deeply with our EPCs, offtakers, funders, and other partners, focusing on building an ecosystem that supports each other and ensures value for all.
Growing a company requires guts, taking risks, and a strong team. Sometimes this means changing your business model and being willing to pivot when necessary. All businesses need to reach a sustainable scale to produce value across stakeholders and partners. We have focused on improving our access to capital and lowering costs, enabling us to build more, build faster, and solve more problems.
Strategic partnerships have been instrumental in scaling our operations. Leveraging my experience in finance, we’ve secured robust funding agreements with global partners such as Jaltech and Energea, among others. These partnerships provide the financial backing necessary to scale our projects and expand our impact.
Systematic growth is another pillar of our strategy. We have implemented scalable business models and efficient systems to manage rapid expansion effectively. This approach has allowed our newly introduced corporate funding offering to scale rapidly, accounting for 82% of new project funding in 2023. These measures ensure that we maintain high standards of quality and service as we grow.
5. As a senior executive and board member with decades of experience, what advice would you give to emerging leaders in the renewable energy industry aiming to make a significant impact?
Emerging leaders in the renewable energy industry should focus on stakeholder management, building team culture and empowerment, and defining and achieving impact to make a significant difference.
In emerging markets, stakeholder management is crucial. Unlike established markets, these regions often lack a history of collaborative opportunity-building. Rather than viewing the market as a fixed-size pie, focus on growing the pie together. Even if your slice remains the same, the overall business will be larger. Emerging market leaders need to collaborate, build business ecosystems, and engage stakeholders. Avoid pure free-market capitalism that undercuts others; the challenges are too significant for this mindset.
How you treat your team and the culture within your team are critical. Focus on growing teams and individuals to be empowered, confident, proactive, secure, and excited about the opportunity. This brings exuberance into the organisation.
In the renewables sector, clearly define what you mean by impact. Is it solving a problem, improving environmental outcomes, or reducing carbon emissions? Be specific about your impact goals. Create solutions tailored to the context of emerging markets. Avoid using templates from elsewhere. What works in Cape Town may not work in Johannesburg; what works in Botswana may not work in Malawi; what works in California won’t work in Mozambique. Be context-specific and tailor solutions to local economies and problems. Emerging market leaders need to understand their goals and the context they operate in. This can be complex, especially when engaging with funders from different regions who may have varying ideas about effective solutions. Leaders must navigate these complexities to ensure the right fit for their market.
6. Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for Sun Exchange, and how do you see the company contributing to the broader goal of sustainable energy access in Africa?
Our long-term vision for Sun Exchange is to be at the forefront of the renewable energy transition across Africa, driving the adoption of solar energy and fostering sustainable development. By doing so, we will provide reliable and affordable solar energy solutions that contribute to both economic growth and environmental sustainability of the continent. We see our role as not just a provider of solar energy but as a catalyst for change.
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