UEF awards grants to renewable energy firms in Nigeria

The Universal Energy Facility (UEF)  has announced that it will provide grants to renewable energy companies who applied to have their projects financed as part of its Stand-Alone Solar for Productive Use (SSPU) programme.

UEF is a results-based financing facility managed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

In a statement signed by Anita Otubu, senior director, UEF, on Wednesday, the facility said the selected grantees would commence building their proposed solar projects.

Otubu said the projects would span most states in Nigeria and be completed within the next 12 months.

She said all the projects are designed to connect businesses and services to a clean, affordable and reliable electricity source.

“Together, they will connect approximately 3,500 businesses, markets, shopping malls, cold-storage facilities, clinics, schools, and other productive uses of energy, which are uses that support economic activity and community infrastructure,” the statement reads.

“As stand-alone solar energy projects, they will alleviate the need for businesses and services to rely on expensive, polluting fossil fuel generators as their source of power.

“The UEF estimates that approximately 5,400 tons of CO2 equivalent per year will be saved once all of the proposed projects are implemented.”

Damilola Ogunbiyi, chief executive officer and special representative of the UN secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All, was quoted as saying, “With this programme in Nigeria, the Universal Energy Facility will demonstrate the enabling power that sustainable energy can have on local economic development and climate action.

“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.”

Last year, the federal government launched its energy transition plan showing how the country will achieve universal energy access by 2030 and net-zero emissions by mid-century, as well as the finance required to meet these goals.

Recently, the federal government disclosed that it has raised $3.6 billion out of its $10 million annual funding plan for energy transition.

The UEF said it is contributing to the plan’s finance targets for the power sector by providing grants that companies can leverage to attract additional finance for clean energy.

Commenting on the development, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was quoted as saying the projects supported by the Universal Energy Facility will help grow businesses and create jobs, making them key contributors to the energy transition plan.