By Iroyin Yoruba Television
Grid Crux Energy Solutions and Dolphin Telecoms have signed a 10-year Energy-as-a-Service agreement that will introduce a dedicated solar power system at Dolphin Telecoms’ cable landing station in Lagos, in a move aimed at improving the reliability of critical telecommunications infrastructure while reducing dependence on diesel-generated electricity.
The agreement, announced on October 3, 2026, brings renewable energy directly into an important part of Nigeria’s digital communications infrastructure. Dolphin Telecoms operates as a communications carrier and landing party for the Africa Coast to Europe submarine cable, commonly known as the ACE cable.
Under the agreement, Grid Crux Energy Solutions will design, finance, install and operate the solar power system at Dolphin Telecoms’ Lagos Cable Landing Station.
The facility is an important point in the international communications network because submarine cables carrying international data traffic reach the shore at cable landing stations before their capacity is transferred into terrestrial telecommunications networks serving internet service providers, telecom operators, enterprises and government institutions.
The companies said the new arrangement would allow the cable landing station to use solar energy alongside its existing power sources rather than depending as heavily on conventional backup and diesel generation.
The solar installation is expected to generate more than 144 megawatt-hours of clean electricity each year.
Over the full 10-year agreement, the projected generation is expected to exceed 1,500 megawatt-hours.
The companies said the project is designed to deliver several benefits at the same time, including improved power reliability, lower operating costs, reduced diesel dependence, lower emissions and reduced noise associated with conventional generators.
Grid Crux will be responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the renewable-energy system under the Energy-as-a-Service model.
This arrangement means the customer does not necessarily have to bear the entire upfront capital cost of developing and operating its own renewable-energy infrastructure. Instead, the energy provider takes responsibility for deploying and managing the system under a long-term commercial agreement.
For critical infrastructure such as a cable landing station, the model can be particularly relevant because electricity supply needs to remain dependable around the clock.
A disruption at a cable landing station can affect communications services beyond the facility itself. The station forms part of a wider network through which international internet and telecommunications capacity reaches the country.
Nigeria's growing dependence on digital services has increased the importance of infrastructure that can maintain continuous operations.
Banks, businesses, government institutions, technology companies, telecommunications operators and millions of individual internet users depend on international connectivity for daily activities.
Cloud services, financial transactions, video communications, online commerce, digital payments, remote work and other services can all depend on the availability of stable telecommunications networks.
The power required to operate such infrastructure therefore becomes an important business consideration.
Grid Crux Chief Executive Officer Mojola Ola said the company was focused on reliability, cost reduction and environmental, social and governance considerations through the project.
The company said the cable landing station is a critical component of Nigeria’s terrestrial telecommunications network and requires dependable electricity while also facing pressure to control the cost and environmental impact of its power consumption.
The project represents an intersection between two rapidly developing areas of Nigeria’s economy: digital infrastructure and renewable energy.
Telecommunications facilities have traditionally relied heavily on grid electricity supplemented by diesel generators because of the need for continuous power.
Nigeria's electricity supply challenges have made backup generation an important part of operations for many companies.
For facilities where downtime can affect customers or national and international communications, businesses often maintain multiple power sources to reduce the risk of interruption.
The addition of solar generation provides another source of electricity that can operate alongside existing systems.
The companies said the solar installation would operate in combination with Dolphin Telecoms’ existing power sources.
This means the project is not being presented as an immediate replacement for every existing source of electricity at the cable landing station. Instead, solar power will form part of a broader energy mix designed to improve resilience and reduce the amount of electricity that has to come from conventional sources.
The system will also include real-time remote monitoring, according to the companies.
Remote monitoring can allow operators to observe system performance, identify potential problems and manage maintenance requirements without depending entirely on physical inspections.
For a critical facility, such monitoring can help operators maintain greater visibility over electricity production and equipment performance.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony themed “Powering Connectivity, Enabling Growth.”
The companies described the arrangement as the first renewable Energy-as-a-Service deployment at an ACE cable landing station in Anglophone Africa.
Dolphin Telecoms Managing Director Abdelrahman Bashar Khalifa said the company considered dependable power increasingly important as demand for digital connectivity continues to grow.
The company said the agreement forms part of its longer-term strategy to diversify its energy mix and improve the resilience and sustainability of its infrastructure.
The development also comes at a time when businesses across Nigeria are looking for alternatives to conventional diesel-powered electricity.
Diesel costs can represent a significant operating expense for companies that require generators for extended periods.
The cost is not limited to fuel. Generator-based power also involves equipment maintenance, replacement parts, servicing, transportation and other operational expenses.
A renewable-energy system can alter that cost structure by using sunlight as the primary energy source while reducing the amount of diesel required.
The financial benefit will depend on the performance of the solar installation, the cost of alternative electricity sources, the station's energy requirements and other operating factors over the life of the agreement.
The environmental implications are another component of the project.
Reducing diesel consumption can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and local air pollution associated with combustion.
The companies also said the project would reduce noise, which can be particularly relevant for facilities operating generators continuously or for long periods.
The development reflects a wider movement among telecommunications and technology infrastructure operators toward renewable-energy solutions.
As data consumption increases, telecommunications networks and digital facilities require increasing amounts of electricity.
The expansion of internet services, cloud computing, streaming, digital payments and other online activities has made energy consumption an important consideration in the development and operation of digital infrastructure.
Nigeria's position as one of Africa's largest digital markets means that the reliability of its telecommunications infrastructure has consequences beyond individual companies.
International submarine cables are particularly important because they provide large volumes of communications capacity connecting countries to global networks.
The ACE submarine cable extends approximately 17,000 kilometres along Africa's Atlantic coast from Europe to South Africa and serves multiple African countries.
Dolphin Telecoms has invested more than $60 million in the system and holds landing rights in Dakar, Accra and Lagos, according to information released about the company and the project.
The Lagos landing point is therefore part of a wider international communications system linking West Africa to Europe and other global networks.
The importance of cable infrastructure became increasingly visible as African countries experienced rapid growth in internet usage and digital services.
More people now use online banking, social media, e-commerce, video platforms, cloud-based applications and digital communication services.
Businesses also depend on reliable connectivity for international payments, customer support, data management and communication with partners outside Nigeria.
Government agencies increasingly use digital systems for public services and internal administration.
All of these activities create demand for telecommunications networks capable of operating reliably.
The energy required to support that infrastructure is therefore closely connected to the wider business environment.
The Grid Crux-Dolphin agreement illustrates how companies are attempting to address both issues at once by combining telecommunications infrastructure with alternative energy.
Rather than treating electricity as a separate issue, the project integrates energy management into the operation of a critical communications facility.
The Energy-as-a-Service structure also reflects a growing interest in commercial models that allow businesses to adopt renewable power without taking responsibility for every aspect of system development themselves.
Under the agreement, Grid Crux will finance, install and operate the system.
This places responsibility for the renewable-energy infrastructure with a specialist provider while allowing Dolphin Telecoms to focus on its core telecommunications operations.
The arrangement also creates a long-term commercial relationship between the two companies.
Grid Crux will have an incentive to maintain the system and ensure that it continues to deliver the expected level of service over the agreement's 10-year duration.
For Dolphin Telecoms, the arrangement provides a defined framework for incorporating renewable electricity into its operations.
The companies said the project had been three years in development, indicating that the agreement followed an extended period of planning rather than being an immediate response to a short-term electricity challenge.
Grid Crux Project Lead for Strategy and Performance Atinuke Adeniran said the development reflected a long-term commitment to integrating renewable energy into critical infrastructure.
The project is also relevant to Nigeria's broader effort to increase private-sector participation in renewable-energy deployment.
Businesses with predictable and substantial electricity requirements can represent an important market for renewable-energy developers.
Commercial projects can provide developers with long-term customers while allowing businesses to diversify their power sources.
For renewable-energy companies, projects involving critical infrastructure can also demonstrate the ability of solar technology to support facilities where reliability is a major requirement.
The Lagos cable landing station project will therefore be watched not only for its direct impact on Dolphin Telecoms but also for what it could demonstrate about renewable-energy applications in Nigeria's digital economy.
If the installation performs as projected, similar approaches could potentially be considered by other telecommunications facilities, data centres, technology infrastructure providers and other businesses with high or continuous electricity requirements.
However, the project's performance will ultimately depend on factors including system availability, maintenance, energy demand, weather conditions, integration with existing power sources and the operational effectiveness of the service arrangement.
The 10-year timeframe gives the companies a relatively long period in which to evaluate the commercial and operational results.
For Nigeria's business community, the agreement also highlights the growing connection between energy costs and digital infrastructure.
A company can have strong telecommunications equipment and network capacity, but the infrastructure still requires dependable electricity to function.
Reducing exposure to fuel costs and improving the diversity of electricity sources can therefore become part of broader business-continuity planning.
The development also demonstrates that renewable energy is increasingly being considered for specialised commercial applications rather than only for residential electricity or large standalone solar farms.
In this case, the electricity will support infrastructure that helps connect Nigeria to international communications networks.
The project is consequently positioned at the intersection of clean energy, telecommunications, infrastructure investment and business efficiency.
For Dolphin Telecoms, the objective is to strengthen the energy resilience of an important facility while controlling the long-term cost and environmental impact of its electricity consumption.
For Grid Crux, the agreement provides an opportunity to deploy its Energy-as-a-Service model at a facility where dependable electricity is essential.
For Nigeria's wider digital economy, the project adds another example of private-sector investment seeking to address the energy requirements of critical infrastructure.
The companies have not described the agreement as a complete replacement for conventional electricity sources at the cable landing station.
Instead, the solar system will operate alongside existing power arrangements, providing an additional source of electricity and reducing dependence on diesel generation.
The projected annual output of more than 144 megawatt-hours and total output exceeding 1,500 megawatt-hours over the contract period will provide a measurable basis for assessing the project's contribution.
As implementation progresses, the actual electricity generated, diesel displaced, operating savings and system performance will determine the practical impact of the investment.
The agreement nonetheless represents a fresh commercial development in Nigeria's renewable-energy and telecommunications sectors.
It shows how companies are exploring long-term energy arrangements as part of efforts to reduce operating costs, improve infrastructure reliability and respond to growing demand for more sustainable business operations.
With digital connectivity becoming increasingly important to commerce, government and everyday life, the ability to power telecommunications infrastructure reliably remains a significant business issue.
The new solar agreement in Lagos brings that challenge directly into the renewable-energy market and creates a 10-year framework for combining clean power with critical communications infrastructure.