Expected to generate a 5.4-kilowatt peak to
connect about 27,600 households, and impact over 138,000 Nigerians in two
years, the €9.3 million project is coordinated by the Rural Electrification
Agency (REA) with support from the European Union and the German government
through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
Speaking at the grant award signing
ceremony, Thursday, the Minister of State, Power, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba,
said he was pleased with the development
which is geared towards achieving the country’s vision of generating at least,
30, 000 megawatts of electricity by 2030.
The minister, who commended the management
of REA for its efforts and actions towards ensuring power reaches the off-grid
communities in the country, noted that the administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari is always opened to opportunities at will to achieve the
acceleration of electricity in Nigeria.
“According to the developed National
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy, the vision 30:30:30 aims at
achieving 30,000 Mega Watts of electricity by the year 2030, with renewable
energy contributing 30 per cent of the energy mix. To achieve this, Nigeria
will have to construct over a thousand mini-grids of 100 Killowatts”, he said.
While admitting that government cannot achieve the target alone, he however, said it
was important to continue to find creative and innovative ways to achieve it,
and one of which is through collaborating with development partners and the
private sector.
“We understand that one of the major
bottlenecks for the private sector’s involvement is financing, hence, the
reason the NESP and REA have worked closely to develop and implement the
Interconnected Mini-grid Acceleration Scheme.
“The eight (8) local solar mini-grid
developers, Acob Lighting Technology Limited, Gve Projects, Nayo Tropical Technology
Limited, Rubitec Nigeria Limited, Darway Coast Nigeria Limited, Havenhill
Synergy Limited, Sosa-Protergia Joint Development Company Limited, and A4&T Power Solutions Limited will
receive in-kind grants through REA with support of the European Union and the
German Government within the framework of the NESP.
“These eight solar mini-grid developers
will develop 23 mini-grids across eleven states which include, Zamfara, Niger,
Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Cross River, the
indigenous developers”, he added.
Earlier, the Managing Director of REA,
Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, had said the scheme was aimed at bridging the
funding gap which is affecting indigenous developers in the renewable energy
sector.
Ahmad said: “It is our hope that the
signatures we put down today in these documents set a precedent for the new and
improved power and energy sector in Nigeria. As an agency, we encourage
investors to explore the solar mini-grid sector. However, one major constraint
to this is usually financing.
“This is why the Rural Electrification
Agency, with the support of NESP, is working together to alleviate this
bottleneck. We do this by providing in-kind grants to selected mini-grid
developers on favourable and encouraging terms as contained in the Grant
Agreement. The main objective of the intervention is to design and test a
tender model for interconnected solar mini-grids, invariably leading to the
foundation of the Scheme.
“The wonderful thing about the iMAS project
is that we have ensured that all the developers are Nigerians. This is to say
that the Nigerian energy sector has come a long way from what it used to be and
we are proud of this”.
Head of programme, NESP, Benjamin Duke, on
his part, assured that his team will
continue to work to build investors confidence in the sector by developing an
accurate electricity market intelligence that will provide investors with
accurate data about the country’s electricity needs.