Hybrid company EnerDynamic wins Sengal project
EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies has announced that its joint venture company Maple Leaf Energy S.A. (MLE), has signed a MOU to install EHT's hybrid energy systems and supply power to 125,000 private residences in the Republic of Senegal in West Africa. The MOU is with the National Agency for Renewable Energy (ANER) which is a private entity owned and operated by the National Government of the Republic of Senegal.
The terms of the MOU call for EHT, through its subsidiary MLE, to provide and install 125,000 of its hybrid solar and wind systems over the next 5 years. The selected residence, determined by ANER, will be designed to function entirely off-grid. Additionally, by incorporating EHT's new Smart Box Technology, each residence will not only produce electricity for consumption in that residence (and store a reserve) but will also distribute surplus energy into the power grid.
Each selected residence will receive a system of between 1 Kilowatt and 5 Kilowatts of energy with the average requirement estimated at 2.5 Kilowatts. EHT anticipates that it will start to supply its systems for installation commencing in early 2015. It is anticipated that the Government of Senegal through its various Ministries will acquire the systems from EHT and EHT will be paid for the systems on agreed commercial terms.
EHT has now sent staff to Senegal and commenced installation of 20 systems designed to train the workforce under supervision of the Company's Italian offices and with the direct support of SOPAM S.A. ("Sopam"), EHT's joint venture partner. These units will demonstrate the various configurations available to meet individual physical structures of the selected houses. The 20 systems will be paid for under commercial terms and represent EHT's first direct revenues from Senegal.
Mr. Paul Ghezzi, President of EHT commented "these projects represent the establishment of EHT, via MLE, as an energy solutions provider in the African economy. We have developed a scalable business plan and strategy that will allow us to execute on this opportunity without the need for significant equity capital. Through the use of commercial terms, milestone payments and balance sheet focused financing we will manage the capital requirements required for these projects in the best manner to maximize shareholder value."
Mr. John Gamble, CEO of EHT indicated that "the Government of the Republic of Senegal has been actively seeking to improve the quality of life in Senegal, including the enhancement of its electrical capacity, which will aid in attracting new business and employment opportunities for the people of Senegal. This opportunity is the result of working closely with Sopam, our African partner, to leverage our strengths which will meet the needs of the Government of Senegal."
At present, the Government of Senegal subsidizes energy costs, which will be reduced by an estimated $400 million US per annum providing a substantial source of funding for the project. Once completed, the project will reduce existing electrical grid demand by approximately 250MW per annum and substantially reduce the costs associated with expanding capacity providing an additional source of internal funding in support of the project. The anticipated grid stability resulting from this decreased demand should impact consumers and businesses alike across Senegal.
John Gamble also commented "this week, we have shown the marketplace our dynamic business strategy. We announced a transaction to acquire up to 46 megawatts of Ontario based projects. We then introduced our strategic African partner Sopam S.A. and announced the planned creation of our distribution and warehousing infrastructure throughout West Africa. Now we have announced our first African project that is supported by our JV partner and will utilize the distribution and warehouse network immediately. We continue to execute on our strategy of penetrating the African market while seeking specific, premium Ontario based projects and revenue opportunities."
EHT's three pronged business strategy is to (i) offer micro utility energy products, via its "Ener" product line, designed for distributed small scale power generation, (ii) own and operate utility scale projects with long term contracts and recurring revenue, and (iii) supply equipment and installation services to third party projects of scale.
