BeBa Africa, a solar company from Germany together with its local partner Tino Solutions have installed and inaugurated a 170kWp solar plant at Bomart Farms Limited in Nsawam.
The project, which cost of €160,000, was fully financed by ecoligo, through a Lease-to-Own model, which removes the financial and technical barriers for businesses to use solar energy.
In Africa, Ghana is one of the countries with the highest cost of electricity and the unstableness of power over the years has not helped companies and industries to efficiently operate.
It is in view of this that Bomarts Farms has decided to employ innovation to improve productivity, and also to stay in business despite the challenges in the power sector.
According to the Chief Executive Office of Bomarts Farms, Anthony Botchway, the move to go into the use of solar will go a long way to help the company curb a greater portion of the challenges it faces with power supply.
He said: “Most importantly, this move is to find a way to reduce our energy costs. We have huge energy costs, both in the form of electricity bills, but also by the way we power our ovens, using gas and other energy sources. We believe that solar energy in the near future is going to reduce our energy costs, especially after paying off the investment for the solar system. Once we have paid it off, it becomes ours and this will really cut down our energy costs.”
“We are a company that is recognised for sustainability, in all our activities one can see aspects of sustainability and this is not a marketing gimmick. Solar energy, being a clean and renewable energy source, does not pollute the environment unlike thermal energy sources such as diesel or other fossil fuels”, he added.
The Managing Director of BeBa Africa, Michael Ball, also added that there is a great potential for the use of solar energy for industry in Africa, especially in Ghana, due to its excellent climatic conditions and more importantly due to the high cost of grid electricity.
“I think solar is a proven, reliable and readily available technology to enable cost savings for companies that face high grid electricity costs and seek to enhance their competitiveness by curbing their operating expenditure; even more so in the light of the effects COVID-19 is having on business operations.”
He further advised industries, companies and businesses who are into international operations to take advantage of renewable energy supplies, not only because of their cost-competitiveness, but also to improve on their environmental performance and take further steps towards sustainability.
About BeBa Africa GmbH
BeBa Africa was founded in 2016 from BeBa Energie GmbH, a renewable energy company from Germany, with the mandate to enable electricity cost savings for Commercial & Industrial customers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company can look back on a 20-year track record in development, construction and operation of solar power plants, with over 600 MWp solar PV capacity installed.
In Ghana, BeBa Africa works in partnership with Tino Solutions, a well-established Ghanaian solar company, with over 15 years of operations and partnerships with leading component manufacturers globally.
About ecoligo GmbH
ecoligo provides a fully financed solar-as-a-service solution for businesses in emerging markets. With a complete digital investment platform called ecoligo.investment for financing and delivering solar projects, ecoligo removes the barriers that prevent such projects from being realised. Supplying businesses with affordable electricity enables them to grow and boost the local economy.
About Us Bomarts
Bomarts produces fresh and dried pineapples and mangoes to the local and international markets.
The company processes the three most common varieties of pineapple – MD2, Smooth cayenne, and Sugarloaf. It also processes coconut, banana and papaya into dried fruit.
The company sources raw materials from both smallholder farmers and its farm; a 4,000-acre land for pineapple both conventional and organic, and 1,160-acres land for conventional and organic mango production.
About 272acres of both the organic and conventional pineapple farms is under drip whilst the 360acres organic mango farm is under drip irrigation. Bomarts Farms is Global G. A. P, EU and NOP organic certified. It is also Fairtrade and IFS certified.
