By Shile GIWA
CrossBoundary Energy has signed a 15-year solar agreement for the installation of a 650 kilo watts (KW) plant for Nigerian Breweries.
The solar plant is to be installed at the Brewery plant in Ibadan and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 10,000 tonnes while providing the site with cheaper energy.
The project is the first of its kind for Nigeria – a fully-financed solar Power Purchase Agreement for a major Nigerian business customer.
Under the agreement, CrossBoundary Energy will operate the rooftop facility on behalf of Nigerian Breweries while NB will only pay for solar power produced, receiving a single monthly bill that incorporates all maintenance, monitoring, insurance and financing costs.
The solar plant will supply 1GWh annually to the Ibadan brewery at a significant discount to their current cost of power, while reducing the site’s CO2 emissions by over 10,000 tonnes over the lifespan of the plant.
Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Jordi Borrut, stated “We are delighted to be a pioneer in the adoption of solar energy in Nigeria. The solar plant will help power our world-class brewery in Ibadan, enabling us to deliver on commitments under our ‘Brewing a Better World’ initiatives and supporting Heineken’s global ‘Drop the C’ programme for renewable energy.”
Heineken’s Drop the C programme for renewable energy aims to grow its share of production related energy sourced from renewables from the current level of 14 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030.
“NB’s Brewing a Better World initiative has further targeted a 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030”, according to Martin Kochl, Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc.
Head of Business Development for CrossBoundary Energy, Femi Fadugba said: “We’re excited to be helping Nigerian Breweries go solar and to be providing the site with cleaner, cheaper power with no upfront investment or technical risk. I am also proud that this flagship project – the first of its kind in Nigeria – will be launched in my family’s hometown of Ibadan,” he said.
CrossBoundary Energy has commissioned TPN to design and build the plant as well as performing operations and maintenance immediately after commissioning.
General Manager for TPN, Ruud van Milligen, said: “We are grateful that we, as an Energy Solutions partner for Nigerian Breweries, and CrossBoundary Energy can contribute to the renewable goals of Nigerian Breweries with our custom-made energy solutions and best-in-class operations and maintenance operations.”
The plant will support the local employment of at least a dozen engineering, construction and maintenance professionals during installation and the 25 plus year lifetime of the system, while supporting the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) target of having 2,000MW of power capacity from renewables by 2020.
Through financing packages like the one being offered by CrossBoundary Energy, Nigeria’s renewable energy sector can provide much-needed green jobs, tap global capital, improve access to affordable, reliable power for businesses, and enable Nigeria to fulfil its enormous economic potential. Support for the project has come from Shell Foundation and the Solar Nigeria programme, an initiative implemented by Adam Smith International with funding from UK A
