Breweries pioneers first solar power

Nigerian Breweries (NB) and CrossBoundary Energy have signed Heineken’s first solar project in Africa, the first of its kind for Nigeria. It is a fully-financed solar Power Purchase Agreement for a major Nigerian business customer. CrossBoundary Energy will be installing and operating a 650 kw solar plant located at NB’s Ibadan Brewery. It will operate the rooftop facility on behalf of Nigerian Breweries as part of a 15-year solar services agreement.

Under the agreement, NB will only pay for solar power produced, receiving a single monthly bill that incorporates all maintenance, monitoring, insurance and financing costs.

The solar energy plant will become operational this year, supplying 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. The Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel, 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.”

NAN