Solar energy: French IPP GreenYellow sells its Madagascar and Burkina Faso assets

Independent Power Producer (IPP) GreenYellow is selling its assets in Madagascar and Burkina Faso. They are being taken over by the Madagascan group Axian, which wants to accelerate its investments in renewable energies in Africa.

There’s movement on the solar energy market in sub-Saharan Africa. French independent power producer (IPP) GreenYellow is selling its assets in Madagascar and Burkina Faso. The subsidiary of the Ardian group is selling its assets to the Madagascan group Axian, which wants to accelerate its investment in renewable energies in Africa.

In Madagascar, the group based in the capital, Tananarive, is buying GreenYellow’s shares in an installed capacity of 51 MW. On the island, the French company held a 49% stake alongside Axian (51%), in the Ambatolampy 40 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant with storage facilities (5 MWh). In recent years, the two companies have developed other solar power plants as part of the Green Energy Solutions (GES Madagascar) joint venture.

Asset purchase in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the Madagascan group Axian acquires GreenYellow’s assets in 30 MW of installed solar capacity. In this Sahel country, the French IPP inaugurated the Nagréongo solar park (30 MWp) in July 2022, south of the town of Ziniaré and around 30 km northeast of Ouagadougou. The plants acquired by Axian were all built under public-private partnerships (PPPs), which are accelerating the deployment of solar power across the continent.

“This takeover is a concrete expression of our ambition to grow on the continent, and underlines Axian’s commitment to making a positive impact and catalyzing Africa’s socio-economic development through accessible and sustainable energy solutions,” says Benjamin Memmi, head of the Malagasy group’s energy division.

Axian plans to develop 500 MW of renewable energies in Africa “to promote access to clean, affordable energy for populations” over the next three years. In addition to large-scale solar, the group is also active in the mini-grid sector through the WeLight joint venture it launched in partnership with French company Sagemcom and Norwegian development bank Norfund. WeLight is active in Madagascar and Mali.

Cover photo: By AFRIK21