Congo: GreenWish, Orange partner to implement clean energy solutions

GreenWish Partners, an independent renewable power producer in Africa, announces a partnership with Orange to implement clean energy solutions for Orange’s network of telecommunication towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The partnership involves GreenWish and its operational partner Sagemcom deploying hybrid solar power generation systems that combine solar, battery and diesel fuel to boost energy efficiency.
This first lot of 250 telecom towers spread throughout the Congo represents the launch of a new model of electricity supply for Orange in the country. This model, called ESCO (Energy Services Company), has already been launched in India and the United States. It consists in outsourcing the investment, installation, modernization and operational management of electricity generation infrastructure in order to optimize electricity consumption, reliability, environmental impact and the energy costs of the telecom operators.
“The issue of energy efficiency is a major challenge for the growth of telecoms operators in Africa. The transition to a clean energy model makes it possible to secure stable electricity supply, which is essential for ensuring the continuity of service and to significantly reduce electricity costs in countries where the availability of electricity remains precarious. Outsourcing investments allows operators to concentrate their resources on extending their services, while reducing their carbon emissions by 70% to 90% of CO2 emissions,” said Bruno Mettling, Deputy Managing Director of Orange Group and CEO of Orange Middle-East & Africa.
This new electricity solution, which is still non-existent on the African continent, is the result of a major partnership between GreenWish, the first IPP to have implemented a large-scale solar project in Africa, in Senegal, and Sagemcom, the African leader in telecom and fiber asset management with more than 50 years of expertise in telecommunication systems and an operational presence in more than 20 African countries.
With its new offer, GreenWish aims to equip 10,000 towers with hybrid solar solutions in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, an estimated investment of about USD 800 million. The continent has some 240,000 telecom towers to date depending on diesel generators, a figure that is expected to reach 325,000 by 2020 according to GSMA.
“Our service offerings for telecom operators are based on both GreenWish’s exceptional capabilities in financial engineering and capital mobilization and the depth of operational experience of our partner Sagemcom. The signing of this first contract with a leading operator such as Orange in DR Congo is a great success, as it proves that our solution is perfectly adapted to the African context. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with Orange on the deployment of this solution in other countries,” said Charlotte Aubin, president of GreenWish.
“We are thrilled about this partnership with GreenWish that will enable us to meet our ambitious energy efficiency targets. Using smart hybrid solutions for telecom tower equipment is one of the key development solutions for telecom operators in Africa. The DR Congo is particularly well suited for the deployment of efficient diesel-hybrid technologies, a country where fuel transportation is often unpredictable and expensive due to the poor state of road networks and the huge distances to be travelled,” explains Jean-Michel Garrouteigt, Managing Director of Orange in DR Congo.