OVER 200 RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPERS CONVERGE AT THE Q1 ROUNDTABLE OF THE SOLAR POWER NAIJA PROGRAMME
As part of efforts of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), targeted at the accelerated deployment of renewable energy infrastructure for socio-economic development, the Agency convened a virtual Roundtable on the Solar Power Naija Programme (SPN) on Monday, the 20th of February 2023, with select private sector developers in the off-grid space. The Roundtable, the first in the year 2023, forms part of the Agency’s efforts to catalyse access to financing for developers in the off-grid sector through the SPN.
The Head of Solar Power Naija, Ms. Barbara Izilein while addressing the attendees, on behalf of the REA’s Managing Director/CEO, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad appreciated the developers for engaging actively at the Agency’s Roundtables, assuring them of the Agency’s continued commitment towards providing the necessary support needed for a vibrant, private sector-driven off-grid ecosystem in Nigeria.
Ms. Izilein also delivered a presentation to provide better context on the SPN and detailed the various potential funding pathways now available to developers through the programme following engagements with investors. She also provided an update on the ongoing transactions under the programme following which a robust discussion session including discussions around the proposed investor match-making session set to hold in a few months.
A key programme initiated through the Federal Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) in the year 2020, the SPN is being implemented by the REA in collaboration with key stakeholders in government as well as the private sector. The programme is designed to achieve 5 million new connections, impacting about 25 million Nigerians through renewable energy.
The implementation of the programme is underway, already increasing local content in the off-grid solar value chain, facilitating the growth of the local manufacturing industry while incentivizing the creation of 250,000 new jobs in the energy sector, upon full implementation.
At the completion of the knowledge-driven, impact-focused Roundtable, developers had a renewed understanding of the SPN programme, the funding pathways available to them, and the key next steps on their application to the funding pathways.