GROUPE FILATEX

INVESTING IN SOLAR

LIGHTING MADAGASCAR & OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES WITH CLEAN ENERGY: HASNAINE YAVARHOUSSEN, CEO, GROUPE FILATEX

BY ALPHONCE OKOTH

hen the sun sets in Madagascar, Africa’s

Wlargest Island country, everything goes dark. A privately owned company, Groupe Filatex, is daring to change this reality by harnessing the potential of renewable energy. In an interview with CEO Business Africa Magazine, Hasnaine Yavarhoussen, the Group's chief executive officer, explains the company's steps to bridge the energy gap in the country. "We have installed around 170 megawatts in the country,” Yavarhoussen reveals.

With an average of nearly 2,800 hours of sunlight per year, Madagascar can produce an estimated 2,000 kWh/ m² of solar power annually. However, “only 15% of the population has access to energy,” states Yavarhoussen. To bridge this gap, the company is investing heavily in new solar power projects across the country.

However, Groupe Filatex is not only in the energy business but also has operations in other sectors. As Hasnaine explains. “We are a major player in different sectors in Madagascar. First is energy. We also have real estate, free zones, and other ventures.” The company’s approach is to harness Madagascar’s rich natural resources and talent to support innovation and sustainable development.

MADAGASCAR’S LARGEST PRIVATE ENERGY PRODUCER

Groupe Filatex is the largest private energy producer in Madagascar, specializing in solar energy. "We have around 40% of the country's market," Yavarhoussen affirms. The company is planning additional solar panels at the end of 2022 to increase access to energy. “We aim to have an additional output of 190 megawatts by the end of 2022.” A substantial portion of electricity in Madagascar is generated through diesel power plants. "The country is dependent and I would say 90% on fossil energy," Hasnaine tells CEO Business Africa Magazine. To change this, the company is exploring a hybridization power production model. “It means during the day, we put

"THE MOTIVATION WE'RE GIVING TO THOSE PEOPLE, SHOWING THEM WHY WE'RE DOING IT AND WHAT THE IMPACT IN THE COUNTRY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE SUCCESS OF ALL COMPANY'S PROJECTS."

some solar so that at least we can have the peak hours on the renewable energy. This is bringing down the cost of energy by around 35%."

Groupe Filatex is looking at off-grid mini-sites in a bid to improve energy access. To facilitate the offgrid solar initiative, the company, in collaboration with France’s Akuo, has been offering Solar GEM units since November 2020. These power units can be up and running in 30 minutes and can be taken down in 45 minutes should the weather turn inclement. "It's some mobile solar, it comes in a container all prepared and ready,” says Hasnaine. “You just have to install it. It's plugand-play. I think this is the best solution today for Africa, as the need today is quite urgent." By 2022, Filatex expects that its partner, Enelec, will have completed projects that would provide an additional 170 MW in Madagascar and 110 MW in Africa and Europe.

HARNESSING THE POWER OF WIND

To supplement solar, Groupe Filatex has also trained its eyes on Wind which is in harvestable supply in the country’s northern region. “We've put the first wind farm in Madagascar in the north,” Hasnaine asserts. “We will also be putting in place some floating solar farms in the capital.” Harvesting wind is not an easy affair as the island faces harsh weather, from hurricanes and tropical storms. The company is working on a pilot site with a few wind turbines with blades that can handle the tough weather. These turbines use collapsible blades, which can fold up and wait for the storm to pass. The wind farm, launched early this year, is expected to generate 14GWh of electricity per year. In addition, Hasnaine explains that the firm has plans to launch a floating solar farm. “We have some lakes inside the capital where we will be putting those floating solar farms,” said the CEO. Once operational, the floating farms will generate 10MW. COVID-19 SLOWS GROWTH CAMPAIGN

Despite having a well-laid-out expansion plan, the company's activities were distracted by the Covid-19 pandemic. "Covid-19 had an impact on us because the borders were closed, so the projects were delayed," says Yavarhoussen. The company's expansion plans in Ghana and Guinea were the most affected. The pandemic not only restricted movement but also had an impact on prices. Hasnaine tells us that "with Covid the prices, the investments, and Capex were going high."

Despite the tough situation created by the pandemic, Groupe Filatex did not cancel its projects. Succeeding during the unprecedented times, however, depended much on the quality and the will of the staff the company employs. “Choosing the right people at the right place is very important,” he points out. The company which reportedly employs about 15,000 people and has a client base of over 1 million, had to rely on strong leaders to make key decisions as well as motivate the employees during the tough times. Hasnaine says, “the motivation we're giving to those people, showing them why we're doing it and what the impact in the country is very important for the success of all company's projects."

NEW INVESTMENTS TO ENHANCE CAPACITY

Groupe Filatex, like any other company, depends on funding and investment to run smoothly. Financing is becoming increasingly scarce for fossil fuel projects, but "being the biggest private energy producer, I would say it's easier to attract some investment," Hasnaine confirms. The company is working on four hybrid sites with a combined capacity of 20MW. Once complete, they will raise the group's total energy production capacity to 49MW. Groupe Filatex has also invested approximately US$11.4 million (41% stake) in the storage technology deployed by Energiestro, a French technology company that develops flywheel energy storage. Flywheel storage technology is an alternative to battery storage. It works by accelerating the rotor, or flywheel, and then maintaining the energy as rotational energy. If energy is added to the system, the rotor goes faster and slows when some are removed. “This is the first time that we have an ecologic way of storage. Instead of putting batteries to store the renewable energy,” reiterates the CEO. “Together, we are laying the foundations of an ambitious plan to deploy flywheel energy storage across Madagascar and Mauritius.”

The venture with Energiestro forms part of Groupe Filatex's efforts to provide innovative renewable energy solutions for Madagascar and Africa as a whole, to reduce the barriers to accessing electricity and protecting the environment. "The technology exists to revolutionize our energy grids and help save the planet.”

SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT POWER INITIATIVES

Like any other country on the continent, the government's input in supporting local and private sectors in energy production is key. "The government is pushing us to do the harmonization in order not to be dependent on the heavy fuel market," Hasnaine tells CEO Business Africa Magazine. The Madagascar government has set a target of providing energy access to 70% of Malagasy households by 2030. It also plans to produce 7,900 GWh by 2030, as opposed to the 1,500 GWh currently produced.

In response to the government's target, Groupe Filatex has embarked on the hybridization of its existing plants. "We started the hybridization of the existing power plants, which are heavy fuel power plants," explains Hasnaine. In addition, the group is also investing heavily in new solar power projects across the country, with 231 MW in development.

Partnerships also play a key role in the company's success. "We are looking for a partnership with other private investment," says Hasnaine. In 2020, the firm