The Cameroonian agro-industrial company Neo Industry S.A. is investing FCFA 1.3 billion (approximately $2.4 million) in a solar farm to secure the energy supply for its cocoa processing plant located in Kekem, in the Western region. This initiative aims to support the increase in the plant's grinding capacity, which will rise from 32,000 to 80,000 tonnes of beans per year.
The partnership agreement was signed on April 22 in Kekem between Neo Industry, the Norwegian solar project developer Empower New Energy, and the Canadian company Eclipse. The project includes the installation of 3,000 solar panels, generating an installed capacity of 1.8 MWp, as well as a battery storage system with a capacity of 2.5 MWh.
Empower New Energy will provide financing, construction, operation, and electricity supply to Neo Industry under a 25-year contract. Eclipse will be responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of the installation.
The Kekem plant currently operates using the national electricity grid and diesel generators, a configuration that exposes the company to network disruptions and high energy costs. According to Samuel Boog, industrial director of Neo Industry S.A., this agreement will provide more stable and better quality energy. The future solar farm will allow the company to diversify its energy mix, reduce its dependence on the national grid, and limit the use of diesel fuel. The plant will primarily operate on solar energy, with part of the production used to recharge the batteries, which will take over in the absence of sunshine. The Eneo grid will be used as a last resort.
Beyond energy stability, this project will contribute to reducing the company's carbon footprint, with an expected production of 2,270.6 MWh of clean electricity per year and a reduction of approximately 1,505 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. More than 120 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created through this partnership. Empower New Energy is also studying a mechanism linked to carbon credits to allow solar energy consumers to benefit from these credits.
Neo Industry is thus positioning itself as one of the first cocoa processors in Cameroon to integrate a solar solution of this scale into its industrial tool. Chantal Bounkeu, Managing Director of Neo Industry S.A., hopes that many companies in the country will follow this path. The company is also carrying out a biomass boiler project to valorize cocoa shells and produce energy, thus strengthening its energy autonomy and reducing its environmental impact.
Founded on a vision of adding value to Cameroonian raw materials locally, Neo Industry inaugurated its Kekem factory on April 26, 2019. The cocoa processing unit was set up thanks to an agreement signed with the Agropoles Program on June 16, 2016.
Based in Norway, Empower New Energy specializes in financing, building, and operating clean power plants for commercial and industrial clients in Africa. Eclipse, on its end, has developed an ultra-compact energy storage technology designed to stabilize the power grid and address one of the biggest challenges of renewable energies: intermittency. Eclipse's system stores energy in the form of compressed air and heat, offering a safe and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries with minimal environmental impact.
