Continuing their plans to provide a reliable power source for their African operations, telecoms infrastructure company IHS Towers have announced further investment in renewables. IHS Towers Co-Founder and Interim IHS Nigeria CEO Mohamad Darwish told Engineering News Online that the business have been aiming to overcome challenges in the African market around unreliable electricity grids and a high dependence on diesel. To do this, Mohamad Darwish stated that IHS Towers are deploying solar panels across an increased amount of their Nigerian sites, in a bid to replace existing generators with greener options. They are also pursuing solar farm opportunities in Rwanda, and are in ongoing negotiations with local officials. Darwish additionally spoke about further initiatives, including the plan to become “almost diesel neutral” over the next two years in Zambia, as well as reducing diesel usage by charging batteries at sites with national grid connections from the potential surplus of solar energy production.

1. IHS eyes offgrid solutions to power up its towers
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ihs-eyes-offgrid-solutions-to-power-up-its-towers-2016-06-02/rep_id:4136[30/06/2016 16:21:06]
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2ND JUNE 2016
BY: NATASHA ODENDAAL
CREAMER MEDIA DEPUTY EDITOR ONLINE
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IHS eyes offgrid solutions to power up
its towers
obile telecommunications
infrastructure provider IHS is aiming to
leverage renewable-energy technology
and improved grid infrastructure across its
portfolio to reduce its reliance on costly diesel
and unstable ongrid electricity to power its tower
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2. IHS eyes offgrid solutions to power up its towers
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ihs-eyes-offgrid-solutions-to-power-up-its-towers-2016-06-02/rep_id:4136[30/06/2016 16:21:06]
sites across Africa.
With over $500-million already invested in solar power
since 2013, IHS expected its investments to breach the $1-
billion mark as power system enhancements continued
across IHS’s Africa portfolio, which comprised some 23
300 owned or managed sites across the continent.
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“Providing a reliable power supply across our African
operations is challenging. High dependence on diesel
power coupled with erratic electricity grids impedes our
ability to continually power our sites,” IHS Towers
cofounder and interim IHS Nigeria CEO Mohamad
Darwish told Engineering News Online.
IHS was currently deploying solar panels to the bulk of its
Nigeria-based sites to augment or partially replace existing
power systems in a programme that was delivering “strong
results” since its inception late last year.
“Nigeria has benefited the most from our green energy
initiatives since roughly three-quarters of our sites are
based there, although, on a site-for-site basis, all countries
are benefiting at a similar rate,” he added.
Solar farm opportunities were currently being pursued in

3. IHS eyes offgrid solutions to power up its towers
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ihs-eyes-offgrid-solutions-to-power-up-its-towers-2016-06-02/rep_id:4136[30/06/2016 16:21:06]
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Rwanda in an initiative that could potentially supply power
to the national grid in what Darwish described as the first
energy swap model to be used in Africa.
The telecommunications firm was investigating building a
pilot solar farm to supply excess power to Rwanda’s
national grid in return for the provision of a commensurate
amount of electricity during solar downtime. Negotiations
with local stakeholders were ongoing.
In Zambia, the group planned to become “almost diesel
neutral” over the next two years as focus on ongrid and
offgrid solutions, including solar power, intensified.
One initiative was the charging of batteries at the sites
through the national grid connection or using excess solar
energy to ensure the sites reduced their use of diesel power
during a grid outage.
Currently, 90% of the company’s towers in Zambia were
connected to the national grid, with the other 10% offgrid
towers based in rural areas, which had a low power
demand and could be powered entirely by solar and
battery.
IHS was investing to employ solar technology at the sites to
replace the existing generators.
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