On February 23, Sustainable Energy for All (SEForAll) launched the Universal Energy Facility (UEF), a results-based financing facility aimed at providing funding to renewable energy companies in Nigeria.
The UEF program is designed to support the establishment of stand-alone solar projects, which will connect businesses, households, and social facilities in Nigeria.
The program is expected to help increase solar technology adoption across the country ahead of the planned removal of fuel subsidies in June 2023.
The fuel subsidy removal context: Experts have indicated that removing fuel subsidies will likely lead to an increase in solar technology adoption across the country.
However, the renewable energy sector in Nigeria is still lacking in financing, making the UEF program crucial to help developers increase solar capacity in time for fuel subsidy removal.
The UEF program will help alleviate the need for businesses and services to rely on expensive, polluting fossil fuel generators as their source of power. It is estimated that the program will save approximately 5,400 tons of CO2 emissions equivalent per year once all of the proposed projects are implemented.
More on the expected outcomes: The solar projects supported by the UEF are expected to connect about 3,500 businesses, markets, shopping malls, cold-storage facilities, clinics, schools, and other uses that support economic activity and community infrastructure.
During the UEF launch in Lagos, the CEO of SEForAll, Damilola Ogunbiyi, said that solar projects supported by the facility will give businesses clean and affordable electricity to help them scale up, create jobs, and replace polluting power sources.
The Universal Energy Facility will demonstrate the enabling power that sustainable energy can have on local economic development and climate action in Nigeria.
The UEF program also selected ten companies to receive support under the program. They are highlighted below.
Ashipa Electric – An energy company that develops power-generating assets, as well as provides supporting services to deliver reliable and resilient power supply to clients.
Cloud Energy Limited – A company that provides clean, affordable, reliable and easy access to electricity for all Nigerians through solar energy.
Creeds Energy Limited – An energy company that provides access to clean renewable energy technologies and solutions.
Darway Coast – A company that empowers households and businesses through micro-utilities and micro-grids
Havenhill Synergy Limited – A company that works to improve energy access and provide reliable electricity in both rural and urban areas of Nigeria.
Konexa Energy – A company that works in the development and long-term management of integrated utility projects and renewable assets across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Oolu Nigeria – A company that works to provide sustainable energy alternatives, targeting the 80 million off-grid people in Nigeria.
Pam Africa – A renewable energy company that specializes in solar photovoltaics (PVs), grids, and batteries.
Solad – A company that operates an independent energy distribution network and is also an investor in off-grid and hybrid energy projects in Africa.
SunFi – A company that enables easy and affordable access to solar energy.
What you should know: This is the first grant funding window under the Stand-alone Solar for Productive Use program in Nigeria.
The Universal Energy Facility is proving the effectiveness of results-based finance to catalyze energy development at speed and scale, and projects supported by the facility will help grow businesses and create jobs, making them key contributors to Nigeria’s energy transition plan.
Very interesting