Rensource and Premium Poultry team up with Empower to deploy solar energy project to poultry farm
PoliticMag Press Release : December 02, 2020
Rensource, a leading West African renewable energy services provider, announced today its entrance into the provision of Commercial & Industrial (C&I) solar with a project in partnership with the Norwegian impact investment company, Empower New Energy, to deploy a 700 KWp solar photo-voltaic plant to Nigeria´s largest egg producer, Premium Poultry Farms. The power plant, ground-mounted on Premium Poultry’s farm, will generate ca. 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.
This 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 honored to supply affordable clean energy to further grow Nigeria’s critically important agricultural sector, while cutting emissions” said Ademola Adesina, founder and CEO of Rensource.
Premium Poultry Farms produces ca. 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 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”, says Alhaji Mahey Rasheed, Chairman of Premium Poultry Farms. “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, added 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.”
Rensource Energy
Rensource is a leading West African provider of renewable energy related services. Rensource is focused on developing, financing, and managing critical infrastructure for African enterprises.
Premium Poultry Farms
Premium Poultry Farms is one Nigeria’s largest poultry farms. The farm has the most automated operating process of any farm in the country and currently produces over six-hundred-thousand eggs daily.
Empower New Energy (Empower)
Empower New Energy is an award-winning impact investment company investing in small and medium-scale renewable energy projects across Africa through its investment vehicle Empower Invest. The investors in the fund include Norfund (Norway’s Investment Fund for developing countries), ElectriFI (the electrification Financing Initiative, funded by the EU) and a group of private impact investors. Empower operates from its offices in Oslo, London, Nairobi and Accra, and through local partners in Nigeria amongst others.
