CB Energy Access

pending

    IFC is proposing to make an equity investment of US$7.5 million in Preference B Shares in the CrossBoundary Access (“Access” or the “Platform”) for its 2024-2026 capital expenditure (capex) plan. This will be accompanied by an equivalent amount of US$7.5 million of concessional equity from Blended Finance in the same share class. Access is a platform using infrastructure project finance principles to build a distributed utility by constructing and acquiring portfolios of bankable and shovel-ready, networked and distributed renewable technologies, consisting of solar hybrid mini-grids (MGs) and other adjacent technologies (i.e. battery swapping hubs, mesh grids, other) in partnership with leading developers across Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of the Platform is to create a distributed utility at scale for off-grid rural households and businesses.Access will use IFC’s funds to (i) support its capex plan, in line with the planned construction schedules of assets and agreements signed with the selected development partners (“Developers”); (ii) build and acquire new projects in line with the company’s mandate.The proposed MGs have similar layouts and involve the installation and operation of ground-mounted solar modules with a capacity of 50-450 kWp (but future pipeline sites may be larger) and associated components (battery energy storage system (BESS), inverters, cables, hubs, energy management systems and diesel generator systems used for backup during low solar generation days). Project sites are selected on greenfield land, on the outskirts of target communities’ settlements, and typically span 1 to 2 acres. Electricity is delivered via low voltage lines to customers located tens to hundreds of meters away; medium voltage may be used for larger sites or for customer groups located further away from the generation unit. The battery hubs target off-grid low-income villages and consist of standalone solar system of 5-10 kW per hub powering 300 batteries of [45Wh] each available for daily rentals to customers in the community.Access’ existing assets include project development and construction agreements with a Developer for a first batch of (15) projects in Nigeria, of which 5 are already operational, while the remaining 10 are under commissioning. Access is considering additional near-term pipeline development agreements, which involve several MG projects in collaboration with a MG Developer in Nigeria to serve approximately 20,000 connections, and battery swapping hubs (“Power Hubs”) to serve around 60,000 consumers. Further opportunities are under consideration with developers in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and other African countries. Developers may also construct (via Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract if necessary) and operate the projects under contract with Access.