NSIA, REA plan N10bn solar system roll-out

From Uche Usim, Abuja

Drawing strength from the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) are set to unveil over 200,000 Solar Home Systems under the “Solar Power Naija” deal.

The Solar Power Naija Programme is being launched under the ESP and will be supervised directly by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The NSIA-REA partnership will see the NSIA creating an initial revolving fund of N10 billion for qualified developers to distribute and manufacture Solar Home Systems. The fund will be accessible by Nigerian Electrification Program qualified developers under the existing REA and World Bank scheme that guides technical qualification and provides grants for developers to invest and participate in off-grid electrification projects. The REA under the Ministry of Power will provide technical and advisory support to the NSIA as it rolls out the program.

This investment by NSIA is targeted at catalysing 200,000 off-grid connections in the first instance with a goal of reaching over 500,000 systems as the fund revolves and is expanded through to 2023. The program is estimated to also create up to 20,000 jobs across manufacturing, assembly, installation and retail over the period.

Additionally, this partnership will help Nigeria meet its ESP target of increasing electrification, this is a step towards creating five million solar connections over the next few years. At completion, it is expected that this investment will demonstrate locally that the solar off-grid space is an investable segment of the power market.