Globeleq Taps Anglo Vet to Lead Private Power Push in Southern Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – January 19, 2026 – Globeleq, a leading independent power company in Africa, has appointed veteran energy executive Alasdair Martin as its new Director of Private Customer Solutions, a strategic move signaling a major push into Southern Africa's rapidly evolving commercial energy market. The appointment places a seasoned architect of large-scale renewable projects at the helm of a new division tasked with providing bespoke power solutions to energy-intensive industries grappling with unreliable grids and rising costs.

A Strategic Pivot to Private Power

Martin's appointment comes at a critical juncture for Southern Africa's energy sector. In countries like South Africa, regulatory shifts are actively encouraging private power generation to address a persistent supply gap left by struggling state utilities. In 2021, the South African government raised the licensing threshold for new generation projects to 100 MW, a landmark decision that unleashed a wave of private investment from industries desperate for stable, cost-effective electricity.

Globeleq's new focus on "Private Customer Solutions" is a direct response to this market liberalization. The company aims to leverage its development expertise to forge long-term partnerships with private off-takers, particularly in mining and other energy-intensive sectors. While the company has previously ventured into the commercial and industrial (C&I) space, notably with its 2021 acquisition of a power provider in Nigeria, Martin's role centralizes and elevates this strategy, making it a core pillar of Globeleq's growth in the region. The goal is to move beyond traditional utility-scale projects and deliver tailored, reliable, and sustainable power directly to the businesses that form the backbone of the region's economy.

"Southern Africa's energy sector is evolving rapidly, creating opportunities for innovative partnerships," said Globeleq Chief Development Officer, John Smelcer. "Alasdair's combination of technical depth, commercial insight, and sustainability vision will help us deliver tailored solutions to meet the needs of industrial and commercial customers while supporting the region's energy transition."

An Architect of Green Energy Ecosystems

In hiring Alasdair Martin, Globeleq has secured a leader with nearly two decades of experience on the other side of the table—as a key figure within one of Africa's largest industrial energy consumers, Anglo American. During his tenure, Martin was a driving force behind the mining giant's ambitious decarbonization efforts.

He notably led a $3 billion carbon and innovation portfolio focused on developing renewable energy ecosystems. More significantly, he was part of the leadership team that established Envusa Energy, a landmark joint venture with EDF Renewables. This experience provides him with an intimate understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the very customers Globeleq now seeks to serve. His track record is not just in strategy but in execution, having secured investment for large-scale renewable projects and pioneered the use of digital and AI tools to enhance operational efficiency. This background in transforming a legacy industrial powerhouse from within makes him uniquely qualified to structure the complex energy partnerships required to accelerate the green transition for other private companies.

The Envusa Blueprint for Regional Transformation

Martin's involvement with Envusa Energy provides a compelling blueprint for the scale of transformation possible through private-sector collaboration. Launched in 2022, Envusa Energy was created with the primary goal of supplying Anglo American's South African operations with 100% renewable energy by 2040, a crucial step in the miner's global carbon neutrality goals.

The joint venture's ambition is vast, aiming to develop a 3-to-5-gigawatt ecosystem of wind and solar projects by 2030. Its first phase alone, the Koruson 2 cluster, comprises 520 MW of new generation capacity, with commercial operations expected in 2026. By wheeling this power through the national grid, Envusa not only secures clean energy for its own operations but also contributes to the overall stability of South Africa's strained electricity supply. This model of creating large-scale, privately-funded renewable infrastructure to serve industrial needs is precisely the expertise Martin is expected to replicate and scale at Globeleq, potentially extending beyond mining to other hard-to-abate sectors like steel and cement.

Aligning with a Development Finance Mandate

This strategic pivot is strongly aligned with the priorities of Globeleq's influential owners: British International Investment (BII), the UK's development finance institution, and Norfund, its Norwegian counterpart. Both organizations, which hold 70% and 30% stakes respectively, have clear mandates to combat the climate emergency and foster sustainable development through their investments.

BII has committed to directing at least 30% of its new investments towards climate finance and has explicitly stated its goal is to drive a "pivot towards renewables" within Globeleq's portfolio. Similarly, Norfund has made green and inclusive electrification in Africa a cornerstone of its strategy, allocating 70% of its 2024 energy investments to the continent. While both DFIs have faced scrutiny for Globeleq's existing natural gas assets—which still constitute over two-thirds of its operational capacity—this new focus on private, sustainable solutions directly answers their call for a greener trajectory. By empowering industries to adopt cleaner power, Globeleq is not only building a new revenue stream but also fulfilling the core mission of its powerful backers.

Martin himself expressed enthusiasm for this alignment of purpose. "I am excited to join Globeleq as it expands its role in shaping Southern Africa's energy future," he stated. "This is an opportunity to deliver innovative, customer-focused solutions that accelerate the shift to cleaner power and create lasting value for businesses and communities. Globeleq's commitment to sustainability and partnership resonates strongly with my passion for building resilient energy ecosystems that drive growth and positive impact."