Orange partnership to drive off-grid solar in Africa
Global telecommunications operator Orange has partnered with solar pay-as-you-go provider Greenlight Planet, to provide Orange customers with access to clean energy solutions in several African countries.
These countries include Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone etc.
The partnership involves both companies deploying Greenlight Planet’s Sun King range of off-grid energy systems available to the hardest-to-reach regions, especially to the households who live off-the-grid.
Greenlight Planet’s solar systems will first become available for Orange’s eight million customers in Burkina Faso from November 2019.
As part of its multiservice strategy, Orange has chosen to contribute to the challenge of making access to energy more readily available in African countries within its footprint, by providing a range of innovative Orange Energy services.
The Group first launched the “solar kits” offer for consumers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017; the offer is now available in eight countries across the continent.
Through these offers, Orange Energy customers gain access to the necessary solar equipment needed to provide them with enough energy to power basic services in their homes. Customers can use their mobiles to pay small, modular subscription fees at a distance using Orange Money, making solar energy more widely accessible with the flexibility of mobile payments.
The partnership between Orange and Greenlight Planet will provide a much-needed service to a population that would otherwise find it difficult to access energy.
“I am very delighted about this new partnership with Greenlight Planet, it allows us to turn an energy player into a digital energy operator, using our telco operator assets. African populations will thus be able to access energy via simple mobile pre-payment, wherever they are and regardless of their total energy needs. This is our ambition and our contribution to the African energy transition,” expresses Nat-Sy Missamou, director of Orange Energy.
The Sun King solar systems by Greenlight Planet that Orange is offering are robust and can light up a whole house, charge the household’s mobile phones, and power a radio or even a television. They consist of a solar panel that is typically installed on the roof of the house or business and connected to a battery and control unit inside the building.
Users also benefit from a two-year warranty for the products, which covers the entire installation, maintenance, and repairs, in conjunction with Greenlight Planet.
Patrick Muriuki, business development director for Africa at Greenlight Planet, commented: “This partnership with a leading operator such as Orange is a great accomplishment, as it proves that our solutions are perfectly adapted to serve the needs of the sub-Saharan African population. Starting in Burkina Faso, we aim to cover the entire country with reliable access to energy and expect our partnership with Orange to expand across other markets in Africa.
“We believe this collaborative effort will ease and drive Sun King’s penetration into the West African Francophone markets adding to the nearly 50 million lives we have impacted over ten years.”
Image credit: TelecomLead
Source: powerengineeringint
