Corporate solar power sourcing is attracting interest in Africa’s Nigeria, with CrossBoundary bringing online a 663.6 kW solar power project for the largest brewery in the country. Impact investment fund CrossBoundary said this is the first of its kind solar power purchase agreement (PPA) for a major Nigerian business customer.

It has completed a fully financed solar plant for Nigerian Breweries Plc., at the latter’s Ibadan factory. Under the 15-year PPA and solar services agreement, CrossBoundary will supply 800 MWh to the brewery annually while operating the facility on behalf of Nigerian Breweries.

The brewery will only pay for solar power produced, receiving a single monthly bill comprising all maintenance, monitoring, insurance and financing costs, said CrossBoundary on its social media account.

For Nigerian Breweries, this solar power will come at a ‘significant discount’ to its current cost of power, while reducing its CO2 emissions by over 10,000 tons over the life of the plant.

An Africa focused mini-grid project financing facility, CrossBoundary Energy Access, part of the CrossBoundary group, was launched in January 2019. It was set up with backing from The Rockefeller Foundation, Shell Foundation, UK Aid and Ceniarth to unlock over $11 billion in private investment (see Mini-Grid Project Financing Facility Launched).