Renewable energy investment company CrossBoundary Energy has commissioned a solar photovoltaic power plant with a battery storage system for a plantation forestry group in Sierra Leone. The solar plant provides clean electricity for the Miro Forestry and Timber Products’ factory located in Tonkolili in the Northern province.
The solar power system consists of a 236 kWp PV plant and a 389 kWh battery storage unit. The newly installed plant is a first-of-its-kind commercial solar & battery system for any forestry company in Sierra Leone. It marks a new milestone for sustainability in the country’s forestry sector.
The renewable energy system will be able to provide 25% of the power requirement of Miro Forestry and Timber Products’ facility, cutting its reliance on diesel and delivering substantial savings on power costs.
The implementation of this solar project was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Alhaji Kanja Sesay, the Minister of Energy for Sierra Leone was joined by USAID’s representatives as well as the leadership from Miro Forestry and CrossBoundary Energy for the official commissioning of the solar facility.
According to Sesay, the installation of a solar and battery system at Miro Forestry is an indication of a positive trend in solar energy underway on the continent. Investors are increasingly calling on leading enterprises to contribute to decarbonization and to find various ways to leverage renewable energy.
Mariama Diallo, the USAID private sector engagement specialist in Sierra Leone, said that the US is very proud to have financed the solar energy project to help growing Sierra Leonean businesses. The successful completion of the project is an excellent example of a public/private partnership model to encourage wider adoption of clean power for a green economy.
Tessa Lee, Head of Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs at CrossBoundary Energy, said, that the solar photovoltaic systems for Miro Forestry provide the forestry company with cheaper and reliable solar power with no upfront capital investment. This small-scale distributed generation facility demonstrates how commercial-scale battery energy storage systems are making solar solutions more efficient.
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