IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of the IHS Towers group, announced on Monday it has formed a strategic partnership with Jaza Energy to deploy solar power hubs at 250 towers in underserved communities across Nigeria.
According to IHS Nigeria, the hubs will provide clean energy for the towers, while also serving as a sustainable energy source for local communities. The excess power generated by the solar panels will be used to charge battery packs for local households and businesses, reducing reliance on diesel generators.
Jaza Energy added that it will employ local women to operate the hubs, which not only empower women in the communities, but also boost local economic growth and social inclusion.
Jaza Energy said it has delivered over 3 million solar battery swaps in Tanzania and Nigeria, supporting over 100,000 people. The deal with IHS Nigeria will enable it to reach approximately 200,000 more people in some of the most underserved areas in Nigeria by the end of 2025, said Jaza Energy CEO Jeff Schnurr.
“By partnering with IHS Nigeria, Jaza will extend the reach of clean energy even further, building upon IHS Nigeria’s foundational role in connecting the nation,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, IHS Nigeria CEO Mohamad Darwish said the Jaza partnership aligns with IHS Towers’ US$200 million Project Green initiative, which aims to swap diesel generators for renewable energy and reduce kilowatt-hour emissions intensity by around 50% by 2030.
“This partnership with Jaza Energy complements this initiative, as we seek to integrate more solar solutions on our sites, and simultaneously help support local communities – in this case, by helping Jaza Energy provide more local households with access to battery packs for domestic use, as substitutes for diesel-powered generators,” he said.
According to a report from news agency Ecofin, reducing reliance on diesel generators a key issue in Nigeria because of problems with the cost and availability of fuel. The report cites figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showing that the average cost of a litre of diesel fuel has spiked 73.63% in the past year to July 2024. Meanwhile, the Association of Authorized Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) says that telecom operators use an average of 40 million litres of diesel per month to run their sites.
When IHS Nigeria renewed and extended its tower master lease agreements with MTN Nigeria earliet this year, one of the financial provisions of the agreement was a new component indexed to the cost of providing diesel power, which IHS said would act as a hedge against diesel prices and foreign-exchange fluctuations – a key provision, as FX fluctuations in Nigeria resulted in heavy losses for IHS last year.
