InfraNergy, a leading pan-African developer and operator of clean energy infrastructure, has achieved an industry-first feat after installing the largest private-sector battery storage project combined with a solar energy plant in a power-as-a-service commercial agreement with 54gene, a leading genomics company with innovative labs and pioneer of the first biobank in Africa.
With a battery size of 820 kilowatt-hour (kWh), the hybrid solar plant cited in Lagos boasts the largest battery storage installation in Nigeria’s private sector, with a combined solar capacity of 72 kilowatts (kW) and grid energy storage to provide resilient power to a key Commercial and Industrial (C&I) power customer.
Speaking on the landmark deal between InfraNergy and 54gene, Uche C. Isiugo, Founder & CEO of InfraNergy said: “Our installation which powers the heart of company operations for 54gene demonstrates our ability to meet mission-critical energy needs of a diverse array of corporate and industrial customers.”
“We are honoured to power such an innovative company like 54gene and help fast-track Nigeria’s solar energy and battery storage expansion, which will ensure that Nigerians and Africans have the energy they need, whenever they need it,” Isiugo added.
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The hybrid solar plant is capable of providing 24/7 power to 54gene’s headquarters and innovative labs, which inevitably demonstrates InfraNergy’s quest to not only capture energy from the sun but store it.
For 54gene, a Biotechnology company zeroed in on bridging the disparity gap in genomics data, the hybrid solar/battery energy storage project will support the company’s mission to analyze sequence variation in the African genome and deliver on the promise of precision medicine for Africans and the global population.
Globally, solar energy and battery energy storage play a key role in supplying load power during grid outages or peak hours when utility-sourced electricity tariffs are higher in costs, and at night when there is no available solar energy generation to cover power demand. This allows for increased self-consumption by harvesting energy from solar panels during the day time and thus places less stress on the grid during the night time.
InfraNergy’s combined solar PV generation and battery storage project focuses on delivering a true “renewables-as-baseload” solution, which reduces operational and energy costs, accelerates decarbonization, and increases energy resilience, efficiencies and sustainability goals supported by existing grid infrastructure on the continent.
There is a strong appetite for sustainable energy infrastructure to power the growth of the Nigerian economy, which is Africa’s largest. The World Bank reports that about 47% of Nigerians do not have access to grid electricity and those who do have access, face regular power cuts. Across the African continent, only 81% of urban areas and 37% of rural areas have access to electricity, a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows.
Energy is vital for economic development and as such accelerating battery energy storage and renewables adoption can stimulate economic activity with the added advantage of being cheaper and faster to deploy.
InfraNergy’s 820 kWh capacity battery installation scales up energy storage adoption, mapping the road ahead for Nigeria and other African countries to hasten the adoption of renewable energy.
