René LAKS appointed Country Manager of CVE South Africa

Pierre de Froidefond, Hervé Lucas and Arnaud Real, partners of CVE, are pleased to announce the appointment of René Laks as Country Manager of CVE South Africa as part of the acceleration of the group’s growth and of its African development.

CVE South Africa’s development opportunities

“With my associates, we are delighted to welcome René to CVE. His expertise in renewable energies and his knowledge of the market and the specificities of South Africa will be precious in the deployment of this subsidiary, the acceleration of the recruitment of the team and the development of the pipeline of projects” explains Pierre de Froidefond, founding partner of CVE.

Country manager CVE South Africa

Aged 50 years old with a Master’s in Economics, originally from the Netherlands, René has a vast international experience in business development, sales and general management roles in the field of (Renewable) Energy and Mobility. Following a family love at first sight for Africa, he decided to settle in South Africa in 2015. Based in Cape Town, he led a road map of the potential of biogas in South Africa before turning to solar PV. With these experiences, his knowledge of this complex country and his enthusiasm to develop renewable energy in South Africa, René will therefore ensure the start-up and take-off of the 3rd subsidiary of CVE after Chile and the United States.

Focus on the direct sale of electricity to companies and municipalities

South Africa is facing regular loadshedding, double-digit tariffs increase by ESKOM and a strong dependence on coal. The acceleration of Renewable Energy is necessary if the country wants to align production and consumption and meet international commitments to reduce carbon emissions. The successful Utility scale program (REIPPP) will not cover all the electrical requirements for the next decade.

Being an IPP, CVE will focus on its RESPEER offer of selling the energy directly through a Power Purchase Agreement and self-consumption. It will lead CVE’s market segment approach by targeting highly intensive electrical consumption in agriculture, industries, mining and retail and collectives.

With a 2,7MWp installed CVE has a strong track record and starting base in South Africa. The company is investing massively with the objectives to have a local team of 25 employees and installed portfolio of 140MWp by end of 2025.