Olusola Bello
Eight (8) local solar mini-grid developers have received grants through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) with the financial and technical support of the European Union and the German Government within the framework of the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
They were selected through a competitive process under the Mini-Grid/Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (I)MAS. The (I)MAS grants encourage more solar mini-grid projects in Nigeria and facilitate access to reliable and affordable electricity, especially in the unserved and underserved areas of the country.
At the Grant Agreement Sign Off ceremony held in Abuja, Minister of State for Power, Mr. Goddy JEDY-AGBA. OFR, commended the programme. He said “through this programme, more communities across the country will be electrified. The Federal Ministry of Power is always open to opportunities that will achieve the acceleration of electrification in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria is appreciative of the support from Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) towards providing reliable electricity in Nigeria”
The Managing Director and CEO of the REA, Ahmad Salihijo, underlined the relevance of the grant support to the development of solar mini-grid projects in Nigeria. According to him, “the objective of the Grant support is to facilitate the (I)MAS solar mini-grid projects to ensure increase in rural access to reliable and affordable electricity. As contained in the Agreement, the cost of the Grant Assets will not be included in the cost of development in order to achieve affordable and appropriate electricity tariffs for those in the rural and peri urban areas where these projects will be implemented.”
Speaking at the ceremony, the Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund, Sanusi OHIARE, said, “While investors are being encouraged to explore the solar mini-grid sector, one major constraint to their project development is finance. Hence, the Rural Electrification Agency with the support of NESP was able to alleviate this major burden by providing capital in-kind grant to selected mini-grid developers on favourable and encouraging terms as contained in the Grant Agreement”.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Ms Inga STEFANOWICZ, Head of Section – Green Economy at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, noted that “the EU’s financial support for (I)MAS represents the EU’s commitment to support Nigeria in the efforts to enable more investments in the solar mini-grid sector. “We hope that our contribution will help improve access to reliable and affordable electricity in Nigeria, especially in the disadvantaged areas of the country, hence advancing the living standard of the rural and peri-urban dwellers using renewable sources of energy.”
In a similar manner, Ina HOMMERS, Country Director of GIZ Nigeria & ECOWAS present at the ceremony, said, “The provision of capital in-kind grants to the developers in the solar mini-grid sector through the IMAS aims to ensure higher investments in the sector. Therefore, the grants contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria, in particular SDG 7 on access to affordable and clean energy and SDG 13 on climate action. These represent one of the focal areas of GIZ’s support to Nigeria”.
Depending on the ability of the private sector, between 18 to 24 solar mini-grid projects will be deployed in 2022 under the (I)MAS project, serving clean electricity to around 138,000 people in Nigeria. The supported developers are: A4&T Power Solutions, ACOB Lighting Technology Ltd, Darway Coast, GVE Projects Limited, Havenhill Synergy Ltd, NAYO Tropical Technology Ltd, Sosai Renewable Energies Company, and Rubitec Solar Ltd.
