INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Orange turns to GreenWish for
solar-powered telecom towers
“GreenWish aims to equip
10,000 towers with hybrid
solar solutions in sub-
Saharan Africa by 2020.”
G
reenWish Partners, an
independent renewable
power producer in Africa, has
announced a partnership with Orange
to implement clean energy solutions for
Orange’s network of telecommunication
towers in the Democratic Republic
of Congo. The partnership involves
GreenWish and its operational partner
Sagemcom deploying hybrid solar
power generation systems that combine
solar, battery and diesel fuel to boost
energy efficiency.
This first lot of 250 telecom towers
spread throughout the Congo
represents the launch of a new model
of electricity supply for Orange in
the country. This model, called ESCO
(Energy Services Company), has already
been launched in India and the US. It
consists of outsourcing the investment,
installation, modernsation and
operational management of electricity
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generation infrastructure in order
to optimise electricity consumption,
reliability, environmental impact and the
energy costs of the telecom operators.
With its new offer, GreenWish aims to
equip 10,000 towers with hybrid solar
solutions in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020,
an estimated investment of about
USD 800 million. The continent has
some 240,000 telecom towers to date
depending on diesel generators, a figure
that is expected to reach 325,000 by
2020 according to GSMA.
“Our service offerings for telecom
operators are based on both
GreenWish’s exceptional capabilities
in financial engineering and capital
mobilisation and the depth of
operational experience of our partner
Sagemcom. The signing of this first
contract with a leading operator such
as Orange in DR Congo is a great
success, as it proves that our solution is
perfectly adapted to the African context.
We look forward to working hand-in-
hand with Orange on the deployment
of this solution in other countries,”
said Charlotte Aubin, President of
GreenWish.
“We are thrilled about this partnership
with GreenWish that will enable us to
meet our ambitious energy efficiency
targets. Using smart hybrid solutions
for telecom tower equipment is one
of the key development solutions for
telecom operators in Africa. The DR
Congo is particularly well-suited for the
deployment of efficient diesel-hybrid
technologies, a country where fuel
transportation is often unpredictable
and expensive due to the poor state of
road networks and the huge distances
to be travelled,” explains Jean-Michel
Garrouteigt, Managing Director of
Orange in DR Congo. n
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