Paras Energy, Others Unveil Hybrid Solar Project At UMZA Rice Mills

Paras Energy has unveiled a hybrid solar project at UMZA Oil & Rice Mills in Kano, a feat the firm describes as a landmark achievement in sustainable industrial energy.

The managing director Paras Energy, Yashwanth Kumar, speaking during the official commissioning of the project in Kano, said by providing approximately 1,800 MWh of clean energy annually, the project will significantly reduce UMZA’s operational costs, enhance energy reliability, and cut carbon emissions, contributing to both economic growth and environmental sustainability in the Kano region.

Kumar said: “This project exemplifies our commitment to pioneering sustainable energy solutions across Nigeria and West Africa. With nearly two decades of experience delivering stable, reliable power, Paras Energy continues to drive the green energy transition for industrial and agricultural sectors.

“This transformative project is made possible through impact funding from Empower New Energy (Norway), in partnership with Paras Energy. Together, we are delivering clean, reliable and cost-effective power to one of Kano’s leading rice and oil processing facilities.” Kumar said.

On his part, the managing director of Umza Oil and Rice Mills, Alhaji Muktar Khaleh, said the company is satisfied with the impact the project is expected to have on its operations.

He said, “We are commissioning a product that we are satisfied with, and I want to give credit to Paras Energy, Empower New Energy, Digital Power Huawei, Nigeria, that has brought it to our site in Kano. I am sure it will be efficient. We all know the problem we are having with power in town and the cost. But we did our research, and we found out that it’s much cheaper and very reliable.”

He continued: “For some companies here, when you see what we have here, you might probably think of choosing solar. We are not completely off the national grid, but we are having a lot of support from solar energy,” Khaleh said.

Founder & CEO of Empower New Energy, Norway, Terje Osmundsen, said that the solar revolution is now taking over country after country, and continent after continent. “Solar Energy is becoming the fastest source of energy almost everywhere in the world,” he said.

The director of Digital Power Huawei Nigeria, Quan Green, said the company is glad to work with other partners in the ecosystem to provide State-of-the-art Huawei inverters and BESS Technology for the project. He said Huawei had been in Nigeria for 37 years, providing solutions to both local and international markets.

In his remarks, the chairman Umza Group of Industries and Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) Alhaji Abubakar Maifata, said the company was happy to have made this remarkable achievement. “It was just a few months ago when we came to sign the agreements on this project, and today, we are commissioning it. We are happy about the supply of solar energy to our company, and we at UMZA International Farms are happy that this vision is a reality. We appreciate all our partners, “Maifata said.