Flexenclosure, a designer and manufacturer of prefabricated data centre buildings and intelligent power management systems for the ICT industry, has received an order to supply 1,000 eSite power systems for IHS Towers’ sites in the Abuja region of central Nigeria. The order is a part of IHS’s significantly larger green energy programme.
This agreement is the largest eSite deal in Flexenclosure’s history. It will make Nigeria’s mobile network markedly more sustainable as IHS’ tower sites will be powered by new renewable energy solutions, which rely heavily on solar energy. Flexenclosure will manufacture the eSite power systems in Sweden for IHS in Nigeria.
IHS is the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East and with this eSite deployment IHS is effectively pioneering the first large-scale deployment of solar powered towers in West Africa. Through mobile infrastructure, IHS is accelerating a mobile enabled economy across sub-Saharan Africa. IHS invests heavily in projects that improve energy efficiency to reduce the environmental impact of its operations and decrease its diesel consumption across its portfolio.
eSite manufacturing is on-going in Sweden and over 100 eSites are already fully up and running in Nigeria. Nigeria is the biggest telecommunication market and the second largest tower market in Africa. The mobile penetration rate is over 80%, with 151 million subscribers.
IHS Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer William Saad said:
“We needed to be sure that we were deploying the best available power solution at our tower sites and we’re confident that we’ve made the right choice with Flexenclosure’s eSite. Flexenclosure has successfully rolled out various large scale deployments and eSite has proven credentials operating in the toughest environments while delivering exceptional reductions in diesel-related costs and carbon emissions.”
eSite is a hybrid power system for base station sites in areas where grid power is either unreliable or unavailable. Combining battery, solar and genset power sources, eSite is designed to support 24/7 network uptime and cut diesel-related costs by up to 90%. eSite is also designed to be used in a shared tower environment where it can provide power to several mobile telecommunications base stations – a critical requirement for IHS, one of the world’s leading multi-tenant tower operators.
Flexenclosure CEO David King said:
“This is a huge deal for us not simply because of the number of eSites involved, but because it marks the next step in our long-term strategy for the product and for our business. In working with IHS, our corporate strategy is evolving from simply being an equipment provider to partnering with our customers over the long term to maximise site profitability.”
With a population of nearly 180 million people, increasing smartphone penetration and limited fixed line infrastructure, Nigeria’s vibrant wireless industry is poised for a sustained period of network investment and growth. Flexenclosure and IHS will work to roll out renewable energy solutions and diesel reduction initiatives enabling IHS to maintain unparalleled network uptime.