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The latest signing brings the total number of developers with access to the Output-Based grant up to 19.
- The Federal Government has disbursed over $1.1million since the inception of the fund in April 2019.
- The companies will help provide unserved, and under-served households and MSMEs access better energy services at lower costs.
The Federal Government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with seven renewable energy developers for the deployment of solar home systems to electrify rural communities. This agreement will see the developers access the Output-Based Fund Grant.
The developers will provide solar energy services to micro, small and medium enterprises that are operating in unserved or under-served areas. The REA believes that the deployment of these solutions will further increase the number of people with access to electricity in the country.
According to REA’s Managing Director, Ahmad Salihijo, the objective of the stand-alone solar home system (SHS) deployment is to help millions of under-served households and MSMEs access better energy services at lower costs. He stated that the cost of these solutions is lower than the current cost of the sale of stand-alone solar systems in the private market.
The Component Head, Solar Home Systems, Ifunanya Nwandu-Dozie, stated that seven companies passed the evaluation process and were selected to sign the agreement. The companies include Arnergy Solar Limited, Central Electric and Utilities Consortium, Cloud Energy, Zola Electric, JV Solar Integrated Power Solutions Limited, Solad and Leadun Joint Venture, Privida Power Limited, and Sosai Renewables Energies Company. This brings the total number of companies under the grant to 19 following the signing of agreements with 12 developers earlier.
According to Ifunanya Nwandu-Dozie, the companies will have sold about 100,000 SHS by the end of 2021. She further stated that the Nigeria Electrification Project is poised to achieve its universal electrification target by 2023.
Over $1.1m have been given to companies participating in the scheme as they have in turn sold over 105,000 SHS across the country since the Output-Based Fund was inaugurated in April 2019.
The CEO of Arnegy Solar – one of the signatories – Femi Adeyemo, stated that the agreement would deepen and accelerate SHS deployment to MSMEs and individual households in rural communities.