A new supplier of off-grid solar systems gets a grant from Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA). It is the Nigerian subsidiary of the US company Renewvia Energy Corporation. This mini-grid supplier thus obtains a performance-based grant (PBG) proposed under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
Overall, the goal of the Nigerian federal government’s NEP initiative is to provide access to electricity to people in rural areas through renewable sources. NEP also aims to support the development of mini-solar grids and thus facilitate the entry of new players into these markets, particularly private companies. The implementation of the project will contribute to catalysing development especially in selected areas where access to energy is a challenge.
Electrification of several communities in Bayelsa
NEP is supported by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB). REA will draw on these donors for the grant to Renewvia Energy. The company based in Atlanta in the United States will install several mini solar hybrid grids in the southern Nigerian state of Bayelsa.
Renewvia Energy is the second supplier of mini-grids to benefit from a PBG from REA. A few months ago, the same grant was awarded to PowerGen Renewable Energy, a supplier of mini-grids mainly in East and West Africa. Under NEP, REA has decided to provide two forms of subsidies to private companies to accelerate rural electrification in Nigeria.
These are the Output Based Fund (OBF) which is given to suppliers of solar home systems. Several companies are currently benefiting from it. These include A4&T Integrated Services, Asolar Systems Nigeria, Txtlight Power Solutions (Lumos Nigeria), Greenlight Planet, Smarter Grid International and Solar Energy by D. light. The second form of subsidy granted by REA is the PBG which, for the time being, benefits PowerGen Renewable Energy and Renewvia Energy.
Jean Marie Takouleu