WePower & Apollo Africa developing a renewable energy market platform

South African energy company, Apollo Africa, last week announced a partnership with global energy technology company WePower for the development of a digital energy trade platform called the Apollo Platform. The development of the platform will be subject to normal regulatory approvals.

According to Apollo Africa, their platform will connect IPPs directly to consumers, large and small, through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) entirely executed on the digital platform. All transactions will be backed by public blockchain ledger technology, to create and store immutable records, verifiable by all parties, thus ensuring a high level of trust.

“Apollo Africa is offering the Apollo Platform—powered by WePower technologies—to IPPs in South Africa and across the African continent to deliver green energy to all customers,” the company said in a statement. 

REP Developments, a South African firm that specialises in development, management and ownership of small-scale wind and solar farms, will be the first mover IPP to enter into blockchain backed energy trades through the Apollo Platform. REP Developments are set to utilise the Apollo Platform to drive transformative innovation in the renewable energy sector to meet its own mission of accelerating South Africa’s transition to renewable energy.

Speaking on the opportunities created from regulatory changes in the South African energy market, Apollo Africa’s Managing Partner Jenna Harris said: “We are proud to partner with WePower to accelerate the energy transition in South Africa. With the generation licensing relaxations, the private sector can now step in and get involved in this huge growth sector. Renewable energy producers can sell directly to single or multiple customers and energy consumers now have choice about where their energy comes from – giving them options to source cleaner and more affordable energy!”

The Apollo Africa team has plans in place to expand its reach into Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique, thus further igniting the energy transition for the African continent.