Renewable Energy Records $200m Investments

• Renewable Energy Records $200m Investments

Nigeria’s renewable energy segment has recorded $200million worth of equity investments, Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Head, Power & Infrastructure, Mr Abiodun Oni, has said.

He said the capital is small in view of the investment gap in the off-grid sub-sector of the electricity industry.

According to him, more private investments are coming to the sector to make more Nigerians access electricity for growth.

He said bonds of between five and 10 years’tenure were issued by operators to raise liquidity that will be enough for the implementation of key infrastructure in the energy sector.

Speaking on the sideline of a workshop with the theme ‘Nigeria energy mix: Nigeria off-grid investment infrastructure opportunities,’ held in Lagos, Oni said there were opportunities calling for investments in solar, wind, biomass, coal and other sources of generating electricity off-grid for Nigeria’s over 190 million population.

He said investors were sure of getting returns on investments, if they invest with the right price mechanism provided for operators in the industry.

He said an in-depth understanding of kilowatts of electricity generated by either solar energy or wind energy was required from the operators, if they wanted to perform well, adding that operators in the off-grid segment of the industry were expected to complement whatever that is produced by the traditional means of generating electricity, such as the turbines and hydro system.

Also, the Chief Executive officer, Energy Mix Limited, Mr. Noma Olushola Garrick, said investment in infrastructure was required by operators in the public and private sector, if Nigeria is interested in combining on-grid and off-grid methods of generating electricity for growth.

Garrick, whose firm organised the workshop, said support from the financial institutions was needed to improve the contributions of off-grid players to the sector.

Similarly, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) President, Mr. Segun Adaju, urged the Federal and the state governments to invest in renewable energies to engender growth of the economy.

He said South Africa generates over 40,000megawatts (Mw) of electricity from various sources, such as gas, hydro, solar and coal, stressing that the idea has contributed to the development of the former apartheid nation.

He advised individuals and companies to invest in solar energy to aid the growth of the economy.

“When operators invest in solar energy equipment, such as panel, batteries, increase in access to electricity would increase and the better for the country This, directly or indirectly, would reduce the burden of providing electricity to the consumers from the government,’’ he added.