- The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with five private developers to scale up electricity access in the country.
- The MoU’s were signed between the REA and A4&T Power Solutions, Eauxwell Nigeria Limited, Skipper Nigeria Limited, Havenhill Synergy Limited and Privida Power for the delivery of a combined 1265 MW capacity.
- The projects include inter-connected mini-grids (IMGs), isolated minigrids, C&I, and PUE.
- The purpose is to electrify peri-urban and rural communities (including markets, businesses, households, public institutions, health clinics and schools) in both weak grid and off-grid areas.
These Projects fall under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, which is administered by The Agency. Furthermore, this partnership will bring about the introduction of new energy service models, including Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), enable the mass adoption of energy efficient appliances and PUE devices through sales, distribution and credit financing as well as bring about the introduction of a range of value-added services, including e-mobility, agricultural processing, cold storage and e-cooking.
The breakdown of the combined capacity of 1,265MW is as follows:
- * A4&T Power Solutions: Targeting the development of 315 MW
- * Privida Power: Committing to the development of 200 MW.
- * Skipper Nigeria Limited: Aiming to implement 250 MW.
- * Euxwell Nigeria Limited: Focused on the development of 250 MW.
- * Havenhill: Planning to develop 250 MW of solar energy projects.
During the signing, the Managing Director/CEO of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu stated “this is a landmark event under the DARES programme and the introduction of the Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs) model. The RESCO model aims to provide developers with a platform to become utility companies where they can be able to attract investment to deploy mini grids. These developers have the capacity and track record to not only deliver mini grids but to manage large portfolios of projects as well as scale up. This MoU demonstrates our commitment to roll-out this RESCOs model. This MoU gives developers the opportunity to partner with REA to build mini grids under the DARES programme and become RESCOs. We look forward to this mutually beneficial partnership.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
