NB goes offgrid with 650 kW solar powered plant in Ibadan.

Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) and CrossBoundary Energy have announced the signing of Heineken’s first solar project in Africa, a pact that will see the latter installing and operating a 650 kW solar plant at the brewer’s Ibadan Brewery, later this year. According to the brewer, the solar plant will supply 1GWh yearly 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.

CrossBoundary Energy will operate the facility on behalf of Nigerian Breweries as part of a 15-year solar services agreement. Hence, NB will only pay for solar power produced, receiving a single monthly bill that incorporates all maintenance, monitoring, insurance and financing costs.

The plant will support the local employment of at least a dozen engineering, construction and maintenance professionals during installation and the 25+ 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.