Rensource, a renewable energy services provider in West Africa has entered a commercial and industrial (C&I) solar project development in partnership with Empower New Energy, a Norwegian impact investment company.
The partnership will deliver 700 kilowatts (kw) solar photovoltaic plant to Nigeria’s largest egg producer, Premium Poultry Farms. This power plant, ground-mounted on Premium Poultry’s farm will generate about 1 gigawatt-hour of clean energy annually, save up to 25, 000 tons of CO2 in its lifetime and contribute to Abuja’s fight against local air pollution.
The landmark project is one of the largest power purchase agreements for solar energy signed in the C&I sector in Nigeria and will represent the poultry industry’s largest single clean energy project. The power plant is expected to operate for at least 25 years, according to the power purchase agreement signed between the off-taker Premium Poultry and Empower.
“This solution for Premium Poultry Farms, Nigeria’s largest egg producer, demonstrates our ability to meet the energy needs of a diverse array of industrial customers. We are honoured to supply affordable clean energy to further grow Nigeria’s critically important agricultural sector, while cutting emissions” Ademola Adesina, founder and CEO of Rensource said.
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Premium Poultry Farms produces about 600, 000 eggs daily and has its own feed mill, making it the country’s largest egg producer. The company prides itself in distributing and nourishing Nigerian families with quality eggs across the country. This project, which is due to commence operations in December 2020, will have an
www.businessday.ng important footprint in terms of sustainability. It will save up to 840 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and create 40 jobs during its construction and operations phase.
“We take immense pride in being good stewards of the environment and are pleased to further enhance our efforts with this solution. Sustainability is at the heart of the farm’s philosophy”, Alhaji Mahey Rasheed, chairman of Premium Poultry Farms said. “This project also allows us to benefit from the substantially lower energy costs offered by the solar PV technology and we are excited to become the largest solar-powered poultry farm in the country”.
Terje Osmundsen, founder and CEO of Empower New Energy, asserted that “Empower is very pleased to collaborate with Rensource Energy in order to finance this project with Premium Poultry Farms, which reflects the success, dynamism and growth of Nigeria’s renewable energy sector. Our investment fund is poised to accelerate Africa’s transition to clean energy and this is evident in how quickly we have able to mobilise financing for this crucial project.”
