Page 10 - AfrElec Week 08 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

SOL AR improve access to electricity in Nigeria. In this EIF OGEF finances Qotto’s
West African country, 55% of the population
Nigeria’s REA inaugurates does not yet have access to electricity, 64% solar home systems in
of whom live in rural areas, according to
100kW hybrid solar mini- the United States Agency for International Benin
Development (USAID).
grid The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund of the
Energy Inclusion Facility (EIF OGEF) had
Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) closes the €2mn financing in favour of the
has just commissioned a solar hybrid mini- RENEWABLES French start-up Qotto. This provider of solar
grid in Adebayo locality, located in Edo State. home systems will use this funding to electrify
The installation was built by the Nigerian Magnora acquisition spree rural households in Benin and Burkina Faso.
company Fanny Frank Global Resources. After the British company Bboxx, it is
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) builds 1GW pipeline the turn of the French start-up Qotto to
continues to implement the Nigeria Rural benefit from the support of the Off-Grid
Electrification Project (NEP). The REA visited Developer Magnora has built a net 1GW Energy Access Fund of the Energy Inclusion
the locality of Adebayo, in Edo State, to portfolio of renewables projects in South Facility (EIF OGEF). This loan fund provides
commission a 100 kWp solar hybrid mini- Africa after a number of acquisitions. mainly secured financing to support the
grid. The new facility, which sits in the village The company has taken 100% of an growth of innovative companies in the off-
square, was built and commissioned by Fanny unnamed special purpose company in South grid energy sector. Managed by Lion’s Head
Frank Global Resources. Africa, which comes with a 775MW chunk of Global Partners (LHGP), the fund draws on
The small solar power plant and its development projects. the Energy Inclusion Facility (EIF), a debt
battery storage system were built under the Magnora has also doubled to 50% its financing facility for small-scale electricity
first tender of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification stake in the Vindr Group, which is merging access projects, capitalized by the African
Fund (REF). This fund was set up by REA to with another wind and solar developer in the Development Bank (AfDB) and other
accelerate the electrification of rural Nigeria. market. development finance institutions as well as
The REF finances off-grid projects based on “We believe these two investments have commercial investors.
hybrid solar, run-of-river hydro, wind and an excellent value-creating potential for The EIF OGEF is providing Qotto with
biomass. our shareholders, and are delighted to land €2mn in financing for the extension of its
The Adebayo Solar Hybrid Mini-Grid “has them both,” said Torstein Sanness, executive services in Benin and Burkina Faso. The
been designed and built to meet the energy chairman of Magnora. solar kit supplier installs its systems mainly
needs and improve the socio-economic “South African authorities are highly in rural areas. The funds have been raised
status of Adebayo, a community engaged in dedicated to the development of renewable from the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund
commercial activities such as petty trade, energy. Last year it was decided to deregulate ($700,000) for Burkina Faso. In turn, the
sewing, milling, hairdressing and furniture,” the electricity market in South Africa, which US government’s Millennium Challenge
says REA. The government agency estimates has led to several positive developments that Corporation is providing a $1.8mn grant
that the new facilities will provide electricity eases off-take from renewable energy plants. through its Off-Grid Clean Energy Facility for
to 500 households in the village. The political and regulatory framework is Benin.
The mini-grid is being commissioned at stable, and the wind and solar conditions are The AfDB is part of its “Desert-to-Power”
a time when Nigeria’s electrification project excellent,” added Sanness. initiative which aims to make the Sahel the
is in full swing, thanks in part to REA’s largest solar energy production area in the
subsidies to suppliers of solar home systems world with a capacity of 10,000 MW. The
and mini-hybrid solar grids. The aim of this long-term objective is to electrify 250mn
large project, funded by the World Bank and SOL AR people in the countries that make up the
the African Development Bank (AfDB), is to Sahelian strip by using this energy source

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 25•February•2021