Linkedin-in
Twitter Linkedin-in

QUICK
LINKS

e-CO2 green energy

Growthpoint acquires a 30% stake in Boston Hydroelectric Plant

by

Growthpoint acquires a 30% stake in new R390m Boston Hydroelectric Plant

Strategic investment in the hydro plant that is powering the 24/7 clean energy being wheeled to 23 Growthpoint flagship properties

CLARENS, FREE STATE. Growthpoint Properties (JSE: GRT), South Africa’s leading Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), has acquired a 30% stake in the operational Boston Hydroelectric plant, a new R390 million development with an operational lifetime of over 40 years by leading independent power producer Serengeti Energy within the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme near Clarens. South Africa’s newest hydroelectric plant was certified for commercial operations by Eskom on Friday (17 October 2025) and has already started adding renewable energy to the national grid.

 As early as 2023, Growthpoint secured exclusive access to all the approximately 30GWh of renewable electricity generated by the plant annually, through its landmark 195GWh power purchase agreement (PPA) with licenced energy trader Etana Energy. Boston Hydro is the first project to come online in a mix of cost-saving, certified zero-carbon hydro, wind and solar electricity generation projects powering the PPA. The renewable electricity from Boston Hydro will supply 23 Growthpoint buildings, including 10 in Sandton Central and three in Cape Town.

Strategic investment advances energy security

 Growthpoint’s 30% stake in Boston Hydro continues its investment in renewable electricity sources and furthers its green energy transition which began more than a decade ago. The property group took its first steps into rooftop solar generation in 2011, from which is has grown a track record of practical, scalable, carbon reducing energy solutions for its business, tenants and South Africa.

Since its first installation, the property group has invested more than R1 billion in solar energy locally, grown one of South Africa’s largest Small Scale Embedded Generator (SSEG) renewable energy fleets and linked it to transparent certification frameworks. Growthpoint owns a fleet of 80 rooftop plants across its portfolio delivering 61.2MWp of capacity and generates a significant amount of clean electricity annually. A further 7MWp of solar installations are in the pipeline for commissioning by mid-2026.

Growthpoint now operates and procures one of South Africa’s most diversified private renewable energy portfolios, combining solar and hydro generation, with wind soon set to join its renewable energy mix as part of the PPA. Together with its rooftop solar, when its PPA with Etana Energy is fully operational, approximately 40% of Growthpoint’s total electricity demand will be supplied from renewable energy.

Powering up transparency too, Growthpoint verifies its renewable energy by registering the electricity generated on the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) registry via Fuel Switch, Africa’s first blockchain-enabled REC exchange. This ensures global transparency, traceability and accountability across its clean-energy portfolio.

Making renewable energy work for business

Bringing all this together is Growthpoint’s game-changing e-co₂ wheeled renewable energy initiative (which is short for electricity minus carbon dioxide and pronounced “eco two”). This solution is built around Growthpoint’s tenants — thousands of businesses, big and small, in all sectors of South Africa’s economy.

Growthpoint’s pioneering e-co₂ now officially delivers wheeled renewable electricity directly to 10 flagship office buildings in Sandton and their tenants, with the first electrons coming from the operational Boston Hydro over the national grid. e-co2 wheeled green electricity is stable and cost competitive for Growthpoint tenants, it has zero-carbon footprint and certified with tradable digital RECS.

Businesses can, for the first time in South Africa, cut their Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity in select Growthpoint buildings. So, they can save money, advance their sustainability goals and report certified emissions reductions aligned with evolving IFRS sustainability reporting standards.

The launch of e-co2 positions Growthpoint as South Africa’s first provider of a commercial-scale wheeled renewable energy solution for multi-tenanted commercial properties, with building-level certification and benefits that are made available to tenants in a verified, auditable format.

Leading collaboration in South Africa’s private renewable energy market

Leading the way in bringing certified renewable energy into daily business use, e-co2 is built on unprecedented collaboration and leading-edge skills, cemented by deep environmental stewardship, that forms a connected ecosystem.

Together, Serengeti Energy’s independent power generation at Boston Hydro, Etana Energy’s wheeling offering and power purchase agreement, Growthpoint’s renewable energy offtake for its commercial properties and Fuel Switch’s digital REC registration have formed a pioneering collaboration advancing South Africa’s renewable energy transition.

Growthpoint sits at the centre of this transparent ecosystem, demonstrating how the property sector can lead the shift toward energy security and sustainability, while unlocking shared value for stakeholders.

 Estienne de Klerk, SA CEO of Growthpoint Properties, says: “We are incredibly proud of this innovative initiative, made possible by a visionary team, dedicated partners such as Etana Energy, Serengeti Energy, Fuel Switch and many passionate and talented people over a number of years. It not only benefits the immediate occupants of Growthpoint’s properties but helps to create a brighter and more sustainable future for South Africa.”

 Evan Rice, CEO, of Etana Energy, says: “Growthpoint and Etana’s clean energy partnership is accelerating renewable energy in a way that works for business, the country and the planet. Together, we’re making clean electricity accessible through the grid, securing long-term take-off for IPPs and enabling businesses to cut costs and carbon without complexity. It’s a scalable, transparent model for South Africa’s energy future.”

 Anton-Louis Olivier, CEO, Serengeti Energy, says: “Boston Hydro brings affordable, baseload renewable power to the grid reliably and around the clock. It’s the product of 15 years of operational experience across Africa. We’re proud to be the generation backbone of this ground-breaking clean energy partnership and powering a scalable solution for South African businesses through Growthpoint’s e-co₂.”

 Etana Energy: enabling renewable wheeling at scale, cost efficiently

 Etana Energy plays a pivotal role in bringing eco₂ to life for Growthpoint and its tenants. As a licensed electricity trader, Etana provides the platform that allows renewable electricity generated by independent power producers to reach Growthpoint’s buildings through South Africa’s electrical grid.

This is achieved through renewable electricity wheeling – the process that allows electricity users to buy electricity generated by private power projects located elsewhere in the country, like Boston Hydro, using existing transmission and distribution networks. For businesses in office nodes such as Sandton and the Cape Town Foreshore, this is a game-changer. In these areas, where building roof space is extremely limited, on-site solar generation is impractical, if not impossible.

Etana’s integrated trading platform provides a reliable and scalable mechanism for wheeling clean energy, opening access to affordable renewable energy for businesses across the country. Its collaboration with Growthpoint demonstrates how private-sector partnerships can drive meaningful progress towards a low-carbon, energy-secure future for South Africa.

Growthpoint’s long-term commitment to take up 195GWh of clean electricity annually from Etana Energy has already helped to unlock vital capital for the development of new renewable energy infrastructure for South Africa. In addition to the newly developed Boston Hydro plant, wind and solar generation from Etana’s growing renewable portfolio will be added to Growthpoint’s energy mix from 2026 onwards.

Serengeti Energy: powering progress sustainably

 At the generation end of the eco₂ collaboration, Serengeti Energy brings deep technical expertise and a proven track record in renewable power development across Africa. The company is the developer, constructor and operator of the Boston Hydro project, a 5MW run-of-river hydropower plant located on the Ash River within the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is the major water transfer scheme linking Lesotho and Gauteng.

Boston Hydro is the largest of six hydropower facilities along the Ash River and represents Serengeti Energy’s fourth operational hydro plant in South Africa. As a third-generation project of this leading independent power producer, it incorporates insights gained from Serengeti’s nearly 15 years of operating experience across the continent, enhancing system availability, lowering maintenance requirements and improving overall plant performance.

The plant will generate approximately 30GWh of renewable electricity annually, providing reliable 24/7 baseload power to Growthpoint’s eco₂ network through Etana Energy’s wheeling framework. This makes Boston Hydro a cornerstone of Growthpoint’s renewable supply mix.

Growthpoint x Fuel Switch

by

Growthpoint x Fuel Switch: a new benchmark in the global green economy that opens REC markets for SA Inc

 Growthpoint Properties (JSE: GRT) is giving a massive boost to Africa’s first open blockchain-enabled Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) exchange, Fuel Switch, while unlocking certified clean energy trading for tenants when its e-co2 green energy initiative goes live on October 2025.

Wheeled green energy is available for daily business in South Africa from October

Growthpoint’s e-co₂ will deliver its first green electrons to 10 Sandton office buildings in October, with hydropower wheeled over the national grid from the Boston Hydroelectric Plant, newly developed in the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme in partnership with Serengeti Energy. The e-co2 roll-out puts Growthpoint well ahead in bringing certified renewable energy into daily business use. e-co2 wheeled green electricity is cost competitive for Growthpoint tenants and has a zero-carbon footprint, so they can save money and advance their sustainability goals.

Growthpoint has a long-standing track record in sustainable property innovation. For e-co2, the company signed a 195GWh Power Purchase Agreement with Etana Energy in 2023, securing a mix of hydro, wind and solar power. This energy underpins Growthpoint’s pioneering e-co₂ solution, which delivers wheeled renewable electricity directly to commercial buildings and their tenants.

But the real breakthrough lies in how this energy is certified, tracked and monetised for Growthpoint’s tenants. To deliver this capability as part of a growing suite of high-impact business-enabling tenant benefits, Growthpoint partnered with Fuel Switch, a blockchain-based energy tech platform and recent winner of the Agence Française de Développement’s Digital Energy Challenge.

Partnering for innovative green energy certification

Fuel Switch’s platform certifies the electricity as green using IoT, blockchain and AI, providing independent third-party verification in an innovative manner. Once certified, the green energy benefit is recorded on a digital certificate.

Each REC confirms that one megawatt-hour of renewable energy has been generated and supplied to the national grid. The RECs are stored on the blockchain as a digital asset. Each is time-stamped and linked to a renewable energy source.

Think of it like this: when a solar panel generates electricity, it creates two things – actual power, and a certificate that says, “this power came from a clean, renewable source”.

Certified green energy: a valuable new currency for business

 Corporates have come under increasing pressure to meet net-zero and ESG commitments. On top of this, sustainability reporting is increasingly carrying the same weight and scrutiny as financial reporting.

RECs can be redeemed for certified reduction of Scope 2 Carbon emissions. Fuel Switch integrates directly with South Africa’s national REC registry, zaRECs, as well as the global I-REC standard governed by the I-TRACK Foundation. Its blockchain platform provides an immutable record for each REC from issuance to retirement, which ensures auditability aligned with global ESG standards.

What’s more, with South Africa’s constrained economic growth, businesses are under immense pressure to grow and find new revenue streams. RECs can be monetised by selling them on the voluntary REC market where rights to green electricity are sought after.

Large companies — Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta — are a driving a surging demand for RECS as they seek to reach 100% renewable electricity for their operations.

Until now, Africa’s participation in the voluntary RECs market has been limited. High costs, slow manual processes and opaque trading made it accessible to only the largest-scale projects.

That changes in October 2025.

When e-co2 goes live, Fuel Switch will enable Growthpoint tenants of all sizes to access this new market.

 Green energy trading made simple for Growthpoint tenants

What makes this collaboration unique is the functionality pioneered and developed by the partnership, which integrates Fuel Switch directly into Growthpoint’s property portfolio, green energy data and IT systems. The innovation lies in blockchain smart contracts that use IoT devices and business logic to bring all stakeholders together with a digital handshake.

As e-co2 rolls out from October, participating tenants in select Growthpoint buildings will have their smart electricity meter consumption data automatically sent for verification, and the corresponding RECs will be issued directly into secure digital wallets. These wallets are free for Growthpoint tenants and accessed through the Fuel Switch Exchange platform, allowing tenants to access, manage and deploy their RECs based on business needs. They can redeem them to lower emissions or sell them for additional revenue.

This makes Growthpoint the first to offer a commercial-scale, wheeled renewable electricity solution where renewable energy use is certified at the building level and the benefits are made available to tenants in a verified, auditable format.

Fuel Switch’s elegant innovation behind the scenes

Fuel Switch explains that an elegant system of automated actions executes predetermined smart contract rules embedded a secure blockchain data base. The result? Green energy that is independently certified with the highest level of trust and transparency and direct access to an evolving trading market that is usually inaccessible to all but the biggest players due to high participation costs.

With Fuel Switch, transactions that previously took weeks can now settle virtually instantly. Its smart contract technology is a much more cost-effective way to transact leading to marginal fees. Its infrastructure is capable of handling over 10,000 transactions per second, and it is already trusted by major corporates in South Africa.

Democratising the green economy

Werner van Antwerpen, Growthpoint’s Head: Corporate Advisory, says the platform opens new doors, “It is a game-changer for how businesses can participate in clean energy markets and carbon reduction reporting. By combining our e-co2 wheeled green electricity property portfolio with Fuel Switch’s blockchain technology, we’re opening the green energy market to businesses of all sizes, creating measurable environmental impact and generating real financial value.”

 Gideon Maasz, COO of Fuel Switch, adds: “Our mission is to make participation in the green economy easier, quicker, more cost effect and more transparent. Our partnership with Growthpoint accelerates this goal. With blockchain as the backbone, every REC is verifiable, tradeable, and audit-ready, fully aligned with evolving IFRS sustainability reporting standards.”

 While both e-co2 and the Fuel Switch integration support Growthpoint’s long-term environmental goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its portfolio by 2050, the implications are much, much bigger. These solutions are built around Growthpoint’s tenants — thousands of businesses, big and small, in all sectors of South Africa’s economy.

More than that, understanding that a vibrant and healthy green energy market is crucial for energy security and job creation, the development Fuel Switch has undertaken with Growthpoint will expand the green economy for others too. As an open platform, Fuel Switch can be used by any business or individual, globally.

Growthpoint gears up for certified renewable energy to offices

by

In a first for South Africa, Growthpoint gears up for certified renewable energy rollout to offices

Pioneering a greener future for South Africa, Growthpoint Properties (JSE: GRT), the country’s leading real estate investment trust (REIT), is set to transform the commercial real estate landscape by introducing a clean, green energy benefit scheme called e-CO2 at 10 of its properties in Sandton, Johannesburg. This significant milestone is the next step in the rollout of its innovative renewable energy transition – a first for South Africa.

With all major elements already in place for the groundbreaking scheme to debut in July 2025, Growthpoint will deliver the first green energy to its office buildings through wheeling, reducing carbon footprints and generating Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for tenants using the latest blockchain technology. The move establishes Growthpoint as a trailblazer in the renewable energy field by introducing a new offering for the commercial real estate sector in South Africa.

The Growthpoint e-CO2 green energy benefit scheme (e-CO2 is short for electricity minus carbon dioxide and pronounced “eco two”) is an innovative solution that will deliver green energy through wheeling from multiple renewable sources — water, wind, sunshine — directly to commercial properties. It is made possible by Growthpoint’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Etana Energy.

At the end of 2023, Growthpoint signed the landmark PPA with licenced electricity trader Etana Energy to wheel electricity generated by independent power producers to its buildings in several locations across the country. Wheeling involves the buying and selling of sustainably sourced electricity between private parties, using the existing transmission or distribution network.

Since this can be done over long distances, it gives more users greater access to renewable energy, which is an especially scarce commodity for offices in central business districts. Buildings in these areas, almost without exception, have insufficient roof space for meaningful on-site renewable energy production.

Through the agreement with Etana Energy, Growthpoint has secured exclusive rights to purchase all of the roughly 30GWh that will be generated annually by a hydroelectric power plant developed and operated by Serengeti Energy. The hydroelectric project, which will effectively generate 24/7 baseload power, is located on the Ash River within the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme (LHWS) near Clarens in the Free State. Construction of the plant is well underway as it is readied to commence operation officially on 1 July 2025.

Following this, the majority of wind and some solar production from Etana’s signed generating portfolio will be added to the grid from 2026, and further sources could be added in future.

Paul Kollenberg, Growthpoint Properties Head of Asset Management: Offices, says: “This agreement secures us a significant 195GWh of clean electricity annually for Growthpoint and our tenants at specific buildings, and represents an important step forward in our sustainability journey. Over the past decade, we have prioritised the advancement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies, and we understand how important it is for our clients to do likewise.”

Commitment to sustainability across its supply chain and for SA Inc.

Environmental sustainability is at the core of Growthpoint’s business, which has been at the forefront of integrating green buildings as an accepted practice in the commercial property sector. It is committed to creating sustained value by integrating ESG into corporate strategy.

Growthpoint’s climate commitment target is being carbon neutral by 2050. By committing significant resources to drive this within its operations and across its supply chain, Growthpoint is setting a precedent for sustainable business practices, enabling other businesses to do the same, and supporting long-term cost savings for its clients.

Delivering savings and ESG benefits to users

Being part of the e-CO2 green energy benefit scheme makes it easier for businesses consuming clean, wheeled power to achieve their ESG targets because at least 70% of their electricity will be from renewable sources such as wind, hydro and solar. Depending on availability, a select few businesses will also be able to elect to receive 100% renewable energy. Growthpoint has already started registering businesses eager to receive clean, green energy to meet their environmental goals.

Werner van Antwerpen, Head Corporate Advisory at Growthpoint, explains, “Opting into e-CO2 gives users access to certified RECs that can be used for annual emission reduction in ESG reporting to contribute towards tenants’ environmental goals or can be traded in the open market.”

Consuming electricity in this way can significantly reduce a company’s Scope 2 emissions (as outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol), which include indirect carbon emissions from electricity used by a company. Scope 1 involves direct emissions, while Scope 3 covers associated and indirect emissions in the supply chain. All three are essential to address in the journey to net zero carbon emissions.

Building occupants also benefit directly from e-CO2 in terms of a reduction in the cost of occupation. The tenants’ monthly renewable electricity allocation is used to calculate the benefit, and the longer a tenant stays in a building, the greater the savings.

“Growthpoint is also passing on cost benefits it receives from signing the PPA to the tenant. The cost benefit for a tenant opting for e-CO2 is the difference between the full increase in the electricity price applied by the local municipal authority or Eskom approved by NERSA annually and a fixed escalation rate for the renewable energy part of their electricity cost over the duration of the lease. This guarantees long-term savings. The longer your lease, the more the cost benefit saving becomes each year,” says Kollenberg.

Users at qualifying properties will receive their power as they always have, through the existing power grid. While this does not directly shield them from load shedding, Growthpoint is increasing generating capacity in the larger South African electricity network, reducing the likelihood of load shedding in the long term

e-CO2 is initially available for new leases or renewals only in specific jurisdictions and to select buildings within the Growthpoint portfolio, but this will be expanded over time. The first buildings part of e-CO2 – all located in Sandton – are 138 West Street, The Annex, The Place, Fredman Towers, The Towers, Grayston Office Park, Sandown Mews, 12 Alice Lane, Advocates Chambers and Pinmill Farm.

“We are incredibly proud of this innovative initiative, made possible by a visionary team, dedicated partners and many passionate and talented people over a number of years. It not only benefits the immediate occupants of Growthpoint’s properties but helps to create a brighter and more sustainable future for South Africa,” concludes Kollenberg