REF to disburse N1.9 billion for mini grids and solar home systems

THE RURAL ELECTRIFICA TION FUND (REF) has signed agreements for the disbursement of N1.9 billion grant for the execution of mini-grid and solar home power projects.

The fund which is operated by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), is is expected to deploy 12 mini-grids for N956 million by 12 indigenous mini-grid developers. On solar home systems, over 19,000 solar home systems costing N995 million would be implemented.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Managing Director of the agency, at the event said that the grant depended on each project as the fund viewed them separately before providing 25 percent to 75 percent of the total project sum. The project deployment time is between this year and next year.

According to the agency, the grant is expected to reduce carbon emissionsgreenhouse carbon emission is to be reduced annually by over 5,000 metric tons.

Sanusi Ohiare, the Executive Director of the fund, noted that the fund “had some money about N2 billion in the fund that had been there since 2006 because there was no framework in place to deploy the fund.”

One of the beneficiaries, Okenwa Anayo, chief executive officer, Nayo Technology Limited, who got a grant of N96.3 million which 50 percent of the project cost, said that “this will give us the needed soft landing in financing our projects. It gives us opportunity to go further to rural areas to invest rural mini-grid. This is the best way to fast-track energy for rural people in Nigeria using distributed power.”

The fund is aimed at accelerating economic and human capacity development in rural communities by the rapid deployment of adequate electricity supply to the development of all the sectors of the economy, through private sector developers.