The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has taken a significant step towards accelerating energy access in Nigeria by signing grants with eight renewable energy companies under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project, reports ITREALMS.
ITREALMS recalled that DARES project is designed to catalyze the off-grid energy market through targeted grant support for mini-grid and standalone solar projects. With this grant signing ceremony, REA has marked a major milestone in Nigeria's energy sector. Privida Power Limited will deploy 2.47 megawatts of solar mini-grids across 11 communities in Kogi State, providing over 11,027 new connections.
The eight companies selected under the Standalone Solar Systems (SAS) component include Baobab Plus, Salpha Energy, Asolar, NTA-StarTimes, A4&T, Sunking Greenlight Planet, Bboxx, and D.Light.
These companies will roll out tier 1 & 2 plug-and-play solutions to households and MSMEs, increasing energy access to rural Nigeria.
Abba Aliyu, Managing Director/CEO of REA, highlighted the significance of the intervention, saying, "Today marks a significant day. We aim to deploy 1.6 million standalone solar home systems—a higher figure than the total solar home systems we deployed under the Nigerian Electrification Project."
This initiative contributes to the broader Mission 300, a global effort to deliver energy access to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. As Nigeria advances towards achieving its universal electricity access goals, REA remains at the forefront of innovation, partnerships, and inclusive growth.
Through strategic programs like the Nigeria Electrification Programme (NEP) and Nigeria DARES, REA works in partnership with private sector developers, development partners, and local stakeholders to deliver innovative energy solutions that drive inclusive national growth.
Chuks Egbune/Editor
No comments:
Post a Comment