The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed N75.8 million to GVE Projects Limited and Arnergy Solar Limited to provide solar home systems to off-grid communities in six pilot states. The states are, Anambra, Delta, Niger, Osun, Kaduna and Gombe.
The Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, while presenting cheques to the recipients, said the project was being implemented by the bank in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Olaoluwa said that UNDP which has 50 per cent stake in the project had contributed $1.6 billion. He said that the project was divided into the Stand alone, which costs N31.6 million, and the Micro-Grid, which costs N44.2 million, making a total of N75.8 million. He stressed that the project would involve the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure and local meter manufacturers. According to him, the project would be operated on a Pay As You Go basis without any threat to existing electricity distribution companies. He said: “There are two major systems, the stand alone, which is for singular homes attached to their roofs, while the Micro-Grid would be used as a cluster for different homes in the community. The choice whether to use the micro-grid or stand alone would depend on the type of settlement in the chosen communities, which has not less than 200 houses. The solar system when installed can power 4 LED lamps, television, radio and other appliances, with an average daily cost of N50. After the pilot phase has been proven successful, we have a long term goal to provide 100,000 homes with the solar power systems within the next five years.”
The project would provide a long term solution to the problem of power generation, which, he said, was currently less than 4,000 megawatts.
The chief executive officer of the bank said the programme was a more viable solution to rural-urban migration and poverty alleviation. A recipient of the loan, Mr. Ifeanyi Orajaka, assured stakeholders that the quality of the project would be of international standard. Orajaka said that a model of such project had been done by his company in a community in Rivers State in 2013.
By Dike Onwuamaeze
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