Access to Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa, where large shares of population lack a reliable supply of electricity and affordable modern cooking fuels: such as insufficient power generation capacity, difficulties in managing energy infrastructure and attract investments in the sector has been a challenge to higher revenue in the subregion.
A 2018 report of the IMF estimates that sub-Saharan Africa could, on average, collect between 3-5 percent of GDP in additional tax revenues, significantly more than what the region receives each year through international aid.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with Petrolgas Report, Christian Wessel, Founder, DayStar Power Energy Solutions, says it is his firm’s objective to provide reliable and cost-effective solutions to the industry’s challenges.
According to him, the African industry and its corporate and commercial players need reliable and cost-effective solutions for their businesses to thrive.
In his words, “We install and operate high quality systems delivered by our world-class teams who are based locally and use cutting-edge technology from leading manufacturers (OEMs).
“We do all we can to provide solutions on the back of energy that is not only reliable and affordable but also environmentally friendly.
“We provide our solar power solutions to corporate and industrial clients against competitive fees/tariffs with no upfront capital expenditure on their part. We monitor our sites and have dedicated service teams providing maintenance to ensure long-term operations.
“While doing all this, we also think about our environment. Pollution levels in Lagos and other cities are so high.
“We have installed systems in 100 sites in Nigeria serving commercial and industrial customers, some of whom use our services to power their sites 24/7.
Our systems are currently in 25 states across Nigeria with an average uptime of over 99 per cent across all systems, “he said.
Speaking further, he said Renewable energy will play an important role but it will not be the only source of energy for the region.
“We should continue to talk about energy mixes alongside solar technology.
“For us at Daystar Power, solar power goes hand in hand with innovative solutions, including energy storage or, for instance, efficient gas solutions. We deploy these hybrid solutions for many of our clients.
“Typically, we use as much solar power as we can and complement this with back-up energy sources such as batteries and, where needed, diesel/gas generators.
“Since its nearly three years in operation, we have hired 100 extremely talented people and have installed over 100 solar hybrid systems in sites across West Africa with more in the pipeline.
“I feel very privileged to have had these experiences and I am excited to continue this journey.
“We are definitely making strides towards solving the power challenge, but it is a very big issue and needs a gigantic effort from all stakeholders to be successful.
“We are targeting 10 MW around the end of this year. For next year, our target is another 20 MW. With the rate of adoption and the relationships we have built with our clients, I am optimistic that by this time next year, we will be close to meeting or will already have met our target.
“This projected growth is also based on developments over the last three years in the renewable energy space.
“We started operations in Lagos nearly three years ago, this year we opened offices in Accra and Abuja, and we plan to open in Abidjan soon.
“Companies like ours, that are well structured, have an efficient supply chain and have managed to bring investments into the country, are able to benefit from these developments.
“There are still a lot of things we need to do to ramp up our efforts. However, I am confident that they will happen,” he added.
