Oryx Energies Launches its Solar Power Strategy in Senegal
Oryx Energies Senegal SA now runs a gas station with solar panels that provide a large amount of the station's energy needs.
The PAI service station in Dakar, Senegal, has a roof made of clear solar panels made by the German company Sonnenstromfabrik, which is a world leader in making high-quality solar modules.
The decision to build a service station equipped with solar functionality supports Senegal’s decarbonisation efforts. The country is one of the pioneers of the energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa and, since the early 1980s, has initiated a policy of popularising solar equipment for households and communities.
The purpose-built canopy was chosen for its strong performance and stylish look and feel. Its panels produce 24 MWh/year. It provides 40% of the service station's energy needs and costs 40,000 US dollars to build.
Stephen Paris, Chief Financial Officer & Chairman of the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Committee of Oryx Energies SA, explains: "This installation, the first for our group, is part of our ESG and solar energy strategy for our industrial, commercial, and administrative sites. This strategy covers the next three years. "We have a $4 million budget to reach an expected production capacity of nearly 4 GWh/year."
The company’s ESG strategy rests on four pillars:
Climate Change and Innovation;
Local Environmental Management;
Communities and Customers; and
Our People and Sub-contractors.
Solar energy is an important component of this strategy and one of the more advanced projects in the Climate Change pillar.
Pierre Sow, Managing Director of Oryx Energies Senegal, comments, “Wherever possible, we will always favour the use of renewable energies. Legal systems and local electricity networks vary a lot from country to country and region to region, but our goal is to keep using more and more renewable energy."
The company’s plans to expand the number of its service stations in Senegal benefiting from solar power are paralleled by ongoing projects in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Mali, with plans also formulated for The Gambia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania, covering a total of 150 service stations by 2025.
Source: Oryx Energies
