Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), along with financial and technical support from the European Union and Germany, is providing grants to eight green mini-grid electricity providers to accelerate the electrification in rural Nigeria.
The value of the funding from the EU and Germany is not yet disclosed. But it will be accompanied by technical assistance from the GIZ, the German international development agency. The funding will enable eight Nigerian-based companies to implement electrification projects numbering from 18 to 24, under Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
The electricity providers include A4&T Power Solutions, Acob Lighting Technology, Darway Coast, GVE Projects, Havenhill Synergy, Nayo Tropical Technology, Sosai Renewable Energies Company, and Rubitec Solar. The recipient companies were selected through a competitive process under the Mini-Grid/Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS).
Ina Hommers, GIZ’s Country Director for Nigeria and ECOWAS, stated “The provision of capital and in-kind grants to solar mini-grid developers through IMAS is intended to ensure greater investment in the sector. As a result, the grants contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria, particularly SDG 7 on access to clean and affordable energy and SDG 13 on climate action”
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reports nearly 66% of Nigerians living in remote areas still do not have any access to electricity. According to REA, the green projects implemented with funding from the EU and Germany will benefit 138,000 people in Nigeria. The Nigerian government agency is also using grants to accelerate the deployment of decentralized clean energy in rural areas.
