Growthpoint partners with Fuel Switch to launch Africa's first blockchain-enabled Renewable Energy Certificate exchange
Energy
Growthpoint has a long history in renewable energy, and for instance, the solar panels it began putting on top of its buildings in 2007 in South Africa now mean the 61GWp of electricity it generates annually, is equivalent to that produced by a commercial-scale renewable energy utility
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Growthpoint Properties has signed up with Africa’s first open blockchain-enabled Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) exchange, Fuel Switch, to unlock easily accessible, tradeable clean energy certificates for its tenants.
South Africa’s largest JSE-listed REIT’s green energy initiative, e-co₂, goes live in October 2025, when it will deliver its first green electrons to 10 Sandton office buildings, 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, and e-co₂ wheeled green electricity would be cost competitive for Growthpoint tenants and has a zero-carbon footprint, so tenants could save money and advance their sustainability goals, said Growthpoint’s Head: Corporate Advisory, Werner van Antwerpen, in an online presentation Thursday.
He said that it is currently difficult for South African companies, listed companies in particular, to meet global sustainability goals, and in many cases, the environmental audit requirements are as onerous as the financial audit requirements. For many commercial property tenants, it was also previously very expensive to register with international renewable energy registration platforms.
Growthpoint has a long history in renewable energy, and for instance, the solar panels it began putting on top of its buildings in 2007 now mean the 61 GWp of electricity it generates annually is equivalent to that produced by a commercial-scale renewable energy utility.
For e-co₂, the company signed a 195 GWh Power Purchase Agreement with Etana Energy in 2023, securing a mix of hydro, wind, and solar power. This energy underpins Growthpoint’s e-co₂ solution, which delivers wheeled renewable electricity directly to commercial buildings and their tenants.
The breakthrough in how the energy is certified, tracked, and monetised for Growthpoint’s tenants was achieved through Fuel Switch, a blockchain-based energy tech platform and recent winner of the Agence Française de Développement’s Digital Energy Challenge. It was hoped the initiative would be catalyst for other companies to follow, said Van Antwerpen.
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 (REC).
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.
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 of each REC from issuance to retirement, which ensures auditability aligned with global ESG standards.
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 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. When e-co₂ goes live in October, Fuel Switch will enable Growthpoint tenants of all sizes to access this new market. With Fuel Switch, transactions that previously took weeks can now settle virtually instantly.
“It is a game-changer for how businesses can participate in clean energy markets and carbon reduction reporting,” said Van Antwerpen.
“Our mission is to make participation in the green economy easier, quicker, more cost-effective, and more transparent. Our partnership with Growthpoint accelerates this goal,” said Fuel Switch COO Gideon Maasz.
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