ELECTRICITY: Mini Grids Devt To Generate $10bn Annually — REAN
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A FRESH indication has emerged that Nigeria can generate over $10 billion annually from the off-grid energy market.
Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency in Nigeria, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, who made this known in an interview, added that it had concluded plans for the Future Energy Nigeria conference and exhibition which will take place next week in Lagos.
Ogunbiyi, who is one of the featured panelist stated, “The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that mini grids could account for up to $300 billion of investment by year 2030. For Nigeria, the off-grid energy market opportunity is massive and mini grids could account to up to $10 billion annually.
“This translates to huge economic opportunities for private sector developers and a larger vehicle for electrifying community clusters across rural and urban Nigeria. Mini grids, indeed, are the future for reaching unserved and underserved communities with safe, reliable and clean energy.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has signed grant agreements with seven renewable energy investors under the World Bank funded Nigeria Electrification Project.
It was gathered that the after a thorough procurement process, A4&T Integrated Services Limited, Asolar Systems Nigeria Limited, Txtlight Power Solutions Limited (Lumos Nigeria), Greenlight Planet, Smarter Grid International and Solar Energy by D. light Limited, were among the first six companies to be signed to the Output-Based Fund.
The companies are expected to play a major role in enabling the National Electrification Project Solar Home Systems component to achieve its goal of electrifying one million Nigerian households in five years, using renewable energy solutions.
However, the organisers of the conference stated: “This edition focuses on bridging the country’s energy access gap, the role of off-grid generation projects as well as discussions on the NERC initiative to franchise the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria. For Nigeria, the off-grid energy market opportunity is massive.”
