A new initiative is being launched in Nigeria to finance decentralised renewable energy projects. The Energy Transition & Access Facility for Africa (ETAFA) is being set up by the Nigerian investment company Chapel Hill Denham (CHD) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), a global partnership that aims to mobilise $100 billion over 10 years to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in developing countries.
The Etafa facility is expected to deploy $50 million in local currency (the naira) to support decentralised renewable energy projects across Nigeria. EIOPC will provide $10 million of the local currency funding. The remaining $40 million will be raised from the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF), a fund dedicated to infrastructure financing in Nigeria and managed by CHD.
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“Through partnerships with global institutions such as GEAPP, CHD seeks to mobilise up to $1 billion for clean energy projects in Nigeria and Africa by 2030. It also aims to halve the number of people without access to modern energy in Nigeria and Africa within the same timeframe,” explains Bolaji Balogun, CEO of CHD.
CHD’s ambition is equal to the challenges facing Nigeria. According to Power Africa, 40% of the Nigerian population still has no access to electricity, 66% of them in rural areas. In Nigerian villages, electricity access providers favour decentralised solutions, in particular solar-powered mini-grids and solar home systems. Against this backdrop, GEAPP is committed to creating the conditions for 4 million new connections to mini-grids, reaching 20 million people across Nigeria.
Jean Marie Takouleu