In a first for Africa, Growthpoint Properties will allow its tenants to tap directly into certified renewable power through a blockchain-enabled energy exchange, IOL reported.
The initiative, called e-co₂, combines clean electricity with tradeable Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), making it easier for businesses to cut costs, prove their sustainability credentials, and join global clean energy markets.
Launching in October 2025, e-co₂ will deliver its first ‘green electrons’ to ten Sandton office buildings, supplied with hydropower wheeled from the Boston Hydroelectric Plant in the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme.
The certification breakthrough is powered by Fuel Switch, Africa’s first open blockchain-based REC exchange. The platform uses IoT, blockchain, and AI to verify every unit of green power delivered, issuing digital certificates that are internationally recognised under the I-REC standard.
Growthpoint’s Head of Corporate Advisory, Werner van Antwerpen, said that wheeled green electricity through e-co₂ was cost competitive, had a zero-carbon footprint, and enabled tenants to save money while advancing their sustainability goals.
‘It is a game-changer for how businesses can participate in clean energy markets and carbon reduction reporting,’ van Antwerpen highlighted.
Fuel Switch COO Gideon Maasz added: ‘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.’
The initiative opens a market that was previously out of reach for most African businesses. Transactions that once took weeks will now settle instantly, enabling companies of all sizes to redeem RECs for certified Scope 2 carbon reductions or trade them in voluntary markets where global demand is surging.
Growthpoint has been active in renewable energy for nearly two decades. Its rooftop solar programme, launched in 2007, now generates 61 GWp annually. To underpin e-co₂, it signed a 195 GWh power purchase agreement with Etana Energy in 2023, securing a diversified supply of hydro, wind, and solar power.
