Neckarsulm, … March 2017 – The new collaboration with local company Microcare is opening up further opportunities for growth in South Africa for KACO new energy GmbH, and helping strengthen the German inverter manufacturer’s presence on the African continent, south of the Sahara. The two companies will present their joint strategy at the Solar Show Africa, which takes place on 28–29 March in the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. KACO new energy will be at Stand 2-Q2.
The South African office of KACO new energy GmbH opened in 2013, since when it has recorded an increase in turnover of more than 300 percent annually. To enable further expansion, including beyond national borders, Christoph Heinermann, CEO of KACO new energy Africa (Pty) Ltd., recently entered into a strategic partnership with local manufacturer Microcare. The company, based in Port Elizabeth, produces photovoltaic systems with a focus on battery solutions.
The decision was an easy one for both parties, as the advantages are obvious. The inverters produced by KACO new energy and the projects they manage have the image of “German quality at a good price”. Their market share of projects on commercial roofs, which has now grown to over twelve percent, is also based on this reputation. As a regional company that offers qualified service and trainings, Microcareopens the door to new market segments, and rounds off the range with photovoltaic products and components manufactured in South Africa. This is a key point, as the South African government requires at least 50 percent of products to be locally produced, especially for public projects. In the case of Microcare, the products in question are battery inverters and power storage solutions adapted to the local market standards.
“We carefully evaluated the partnership options, and chose Microcare as the best partner for us,” says Christoph Heinermann. “We see the benefits of this collaboration in further improving our services and in the continued expansion of the “Commercial Roofs” segment, as well as in the Residential sector for the South Africa region. For the rest of the sub-Saharan regions, we want to strengthen our provision of stand-alone photovoltaic systems. In other words, we will offer better access to electricity for villages and farms that are not connected to the power grid, by expediting solar power storage. In doing so, we support the need to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, which are frequently used for power generation in regions remote from the grid.”
Here, KACO new energy is acting in line with the energy suppliers in the region, who turned to renewable energy sources at an early stage, and is getting involved with the development of large-scale PV projects at the regional level. Other countries in Africa have now also turned to regenerative sources of energy, and in particular to solar power.
Heinermann continues: “Through this collaboration with Microcare, we can now cover the entire spectrum of technical solutions and services. We see this new partnership providing great opportunities for both parties and for the spread of solarPV in Africa.”
