The impact investment platform Trine partners up with Watt Renewables, an independent producer of clean energy, to advance investments in renewable energy for telecommunication towers across Nigeria.
The telecommunications sector in Nigeria has experienced significant growth in the past year, witnessing an unprecedented surge in investments (with over $18 billion in investments from 2001 till date). The growth has been supported by the advent of the global pandemic, which led to an increase in the use of digital channels.
Despite investments in the sector, operators are still facing issues with service downtime due to poor infrastructure and an unreliable grid – something that Watt Renewables and Trine are partnering up to solve.
A €7m framework between Trine and Watt Renewables will unlock the potential to deliver 100% uptime to telecom tower operators through Watt’s battery-backed solar hybrid systems for transceiver stations, covering all the needs of the off-taker.
“Aside from the environmental and social benefits, all the hassle related to the operation and maintenance of the telecom tower power supply will be taken over by Watt, which is a huge incentive for the telecom tower operators to go solar,” said Lidia Braykova, Investment Manager at Trine.
“We’re excited about this new partnership with Watt Renewables and are proud to present this new investment opportunity to investors. We look forward to scaling with them as they expand their portfolio rapidly over the coming years,” she continued.
“We at WATT Renewables are extremely excited about this partnership with Trine and the ability to assist our client with their continued growth and expansion. With the upcoming roll-out of new technology (5G), the need for an additional 40,000 tower assets, and the goal of net-zero emission from the mobile network operators (MNOs), a commitment from all necessary stakeholders is crucial in closing the infrastructure gap and reducing the carbon emission levels that currently exist in Nigeria,” said Sherisse Alexander, Chief Investment Officer at Watt Renewables.
“In Africa, Nigeria remains the largest market for both Towerco’s and MNOs and as such there is a massive opportunity for ESCO providers such as WATT Renewable to have a meaningful impact in the provision of quality services and delivering sustainable and affordable solutions. Furthermore, our existing and new partners are all excited about transitioning their existing infrastructure from traditional power sources such as diesel generators dependency, to a renewable and sustainable source of power generator,” she said.
