As of June 1st, Manuele Battisti is the new Country Manager for Enel Green Power South Africa (EGP RSA), taking over from William Price. In this interview he talks about the exciting challenges that lie ahead in his new job.
We meet our new Country Manager, Manuele Battisti. His mandate is to manage South African operations, maintain and expand the business, and diversify the client base. Under his leadership, we will continue to play our part in reducing the load on Eskom (the country’s main utility) and helping to keep the lights on in South African homes and businesses. Manuele Battisti comes at a crucial time for the expansion of renewable capacity in South Africa, and we asked him about this and other issues.
We meet our new Country Manager, Manuele Battisti. His mandate is to manage South African operations, maintain and expand the business, and diversify the client base. Under his leadership, we will continue to play our part in reducing the load on Eskom (the country’s main utility) and helping to keep the lights on in South African homes and businesses. Manuele Battisti comes at a crucial time for the expansion of renewable capacity in South Africa, and we asked him about this and other issues.
Please tell us about your journey with Enel Group since joining the business in 2008.
I joined the Enel Group in a technical role, which I got because I had a degree in mechanical engineering and Ph.D. in renewable energy and energy efficiency in building. I was in this role for two years until I moved into business development in 2010, where I fulfilled various roles, for example, as executive assistant to the then head of business development globally, supporting him in certain non-geographical activities.
In 2014, I was appointed as a middle manager in Africa, leading the business development activities for East and West Africa. At the time, I was based in Italy and travelled to Africa monthly. I was later appointed to Head of Business Development for Southern Africa and moved to South Africa with my family in 2019.
What is expected of you in your role as Country Manager of EGP RSA?
As the new Country Manager of EGP RSA, I am responsible for all activities in Southern Africa, as well as generally managing all units of the company, but especially the three main lines in the value chain, namely Business Development (creating opportunities up to the construction stage); Engineering & Construction, supporting business development mainly for building power plants; and Operations & Maintenance, which involves the core business of the company as an Independent Power Producer (IPP).
In the early stages of our journey in South Africa, we focused mainly on business development and expansion. When we were awarded two large projects in rounds three and four of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP), our focus was on the construction and implementation of the projects that had been awarded. Now that all projects are either complete or under construction, we are focusing on the effective production of electricity from existing power plants and pursuing new business opportunities.
We are currently preparing for round six of the REIPPP for IPPs. At the same time, we are diversifying our client base, following the introduction of new regulations, which allow IPPs to provide electricity to private customers. This will, in turn, reduce the dependency on Eskom and relieve some of the pressure on the public utility with regard to loadshedding and blackouts.
What challenges does the SA renewables sector face?
One challenge facing the renewables sector is the country’s limited grid capacity. The grid was designed to bring electricity from a large centre of production to a large centre of consumption, which in South Africa’s case are both in the north-east of the country, whereas the most windy and sunny areas of the country are in the north-west (Northern and Western Cape). Renewable plants are generally located in the windiest and most irradiated areas of the country, but sooner or later, the issue of grid constraints comes up, because the plants are typically located in less populated areas, where energy consumption is less.
To address this problem, new solutions need to be created. EGP RSA may have to build plants closer to areas that have poorer resources, but are closer to areas of greater consumption or closer to part of the grid that still has capacity to host new generation. So, the challenge is to increase electricity production to meet the consumption requirements and provide electricity at the lowest possible cost. Another challenge is determining what a reasonable tariff for electricity from renewables in South Africa may be – one which is not speculative and that is sustainable over time.
What other initiatives will you oversee?
I will be overseeing the management of human resources in the company. While the Enel Group has its headquarters in Italy, at EGP RSA we employ more than 95% of our workforce from South Africa. In addition to ongoing training and development programmes, skills transfer is one the key objectives of the company. This is facilitated by getting experts from more thriving renewable energy markets to make up part of the South African workforce.
Part of my mandate is the partnership with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), an investment fund for infrastructure, which is already present in many African countries. EGP RSA has an exclusive partnership with QIA to invest on a 50/50 basis in all of the new ventures and opportunities in renewables in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This flagship partnership will also increase the willingness of other entities to invest in the country. EGP RSA will share the ownership of certain projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa; however, we will remain responsible for all of the development, construction and operations activities. Both entities will be investing capital, which will increase our capacity to invest in more projects on the continent and specifically in South Africa. It will also improve the level of technical skills and expertise in the country.
Can you elaborate on your expansion plans?
At the Enel Group, not only do we generate electricity, we are also involved in distribution and transmission, demand side services for electricity, electric vehicles, electric charging stations, and more, and, as a utility, we are one of the world leaders. We intend to extend these services into Africa, and this will likely be linked to the recent expansion of the business into the private sector.
Our first priority will be to broaden EGP RSA’s scope from Eskom-driven projects awarded as part of the REIPPP to having more and more private clients in the portfolio. The next step will be to bring other business units from the Group into South Africa, for example, distribution and transmission, demand side, training, and even electric mobility.
