Jason De Carteret

Head of Solarcentury Africa

Jason leads the Solarcentury Africa team. He has over 30 years of African experience. Prior to joining Solarcentury Africa, Jason worked for a leading emergency power provider for five years on major projects in EMEA. Recognising the growing importance of renewables to the sector, in 2018 he joined Solarcentury Africa, a technology agnostic company that has been delivering multiple PV and Storage projects in challenging regions such as DRC, Eritrea and Nigeria to name a few. Jason brings a strong understanding of both thermal and renewable technologies together with a deep knowledge of the mining industry. His insight and strategic viewpoint is invaluable in helping deliver innovative technical designs that bring significant advancements in reliability and cost savings to the end clients.

Mark Crossley

Head of Commercial Finance

Mark has over 25 years of corporate finance experience in investment banking and the renewable energy industry working with companies ranging from start-ups to global market leaders. He has advised on over £50 billion of transactions, including for some of the leading players in energy and infrastructure. Mark has worked with Solarcentury since 2015 on some of its largest European and African projects, before joining the Solarcentury Africa team as Head of Commercial Finance.

Drew Cormack

Head of Operations

Drew has extensive experience in the Development and Delivery of utility-scale PV and hybrid projects, gained over the past 12+ years he has worked in leading large-scale PV companies. Drew’s previous roles include Head of Operations for Argentum Energy and Lead Project Manager for Lightsource Renewable Energy – the largest solar developer in the UK. Drew joined Solarcentury in 2019, to lead the Operations Department, being responsible for the delivery of its Africa portfolio.

Chahid Jarmouni

Director

Chahid joined BB Energy group in 2020 to oversee the Renewables & New Ventures division to lead the energy transition of the group and Solarcentury Africa. Chahid started his career almost 20 years ago in investment banking covering mining & metals industry first with Société Générale and then the energy sector while at BNP Paribas. He then moved to Glencore where he spent 10 years originating and structuring deals globally. For BB Energy Group and Solarcentury Africa, Chahid utilises his experience in emerging markets and expertise in energy and mining sectors to make the energy transition journey a success for each of our stakeholders.

Mark Sims

Business Development Executive

Mark Sims has almost 40 years of experience in the energy industry – 35 years with Eskom, the national power utility in South Africa and four years as an independent consultant. Mark’s career with Eskom included various engineering roles such as in construction, protection, grid planning and project management, as well as several commercial roles in customer services, key account management and ended in the position of Senior Manager responsible for all cross-border electricity trading and he was also a member of the Southern African Power Pool’s (SAPP) Operating sub-committee and various other SAPP sub-committees and working groups.
Since leaving Eskom, Mark has consulted on several assignments, including developing guidelines for prospective new members of the SAPP and providing training for ESCOM Malawi system control and trading staff on operating in an interconnected power system. He has undertaken market studies for IPPs, consulted with mining houses on carbon neutrality strategies and developed tenders for hybrid thermal, solar and battery energy storage power projects. He has also developed various financial models for an IPP company.

Mark joined Solarcentury Africa in January 2022 in a Business Development capacity with specific focus on the SADC region and with the mandate of obtaining SAPP membership.
Mark holds a NHD Electrical Engineering, BCom Accounting, BSc Hons Energy Studies and various management development qualifications.

Karthik Gudi

Contract & Logistics Manager

Karthik started working for Solarcentury Africa in March 2022 with 11+ years of experience in supply chain, procurement, and contract management roles. Karthik has worked on project development, bid management, procurement, contract management and delivery of solar projects in India for an IPP and a start-up. Previously he worked as Assistant Contracts Manager at Solarcentury for Africa projects.

Ion Gherga

Design Engineer

A Design Engineer with more than 10 years overall experience within the renewable energy industry. Involved in the PV design of residential, commercial and utility scale projects developed in Africa, Australia, UK, Netherlands and Romania. His academic studies were concluded with a BSc degree in Power Engineering at Polytechnic University of Bucharest.

Luca Santoni

Head of Engineering

Head of Engineering with 12+ years’ engineering experience in renewable energy power plants (solar PV, wind farm and storage) across the African Continent from smaller domestic scale to 100MW+ grid connected systems. Included initial plant design, EPC tendering, support to financial close, site engineer, project management and owner’s engineer.

Stephen Chapman

Senior Engineer

Stephen has worked in the renewable energy sector for 9 years. He completed his Renewable Energy Systems Technology MSc with distinction in 2013 and has a background in IT platforms and systems engineering. Prior to joining Solarcentury Africa he managed the Design Team of one of the UK’s leading PV developers and was involved in the design, construction and operation of over 0.5GW of utility-scale PV and BESS projects. As part of the Engineering Team at Solarcentury Africa he undertakes project design preliminary reviews, project assessments, technical documentation and specification support, and works closely with Solarcentury Africa’s clients, contractors and suppliers regarding technical designs.