Nigeria agency partners with 5 developers for 1,265 MW of renewables

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), a Nigeria government agency, on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with five private developers to electrify rural areas via the delivery of a total of 1,265 MW of distributed renewable energy capacity.

As part of REA’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, the companies will implement projects such as inter-connected minigrids, isolated minigrids and commercial and industrial (C&I) systems in both weak grid and off-grid locations.

The five companies have committed to develop the following capacities:

REA managing director/CEO Abba Abubakar Aliyu said the signing is a landmark event under the DARES programme and the introduction of the Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs) model, which seeks to give developers a platform to become utility companies where they can attract investment to deploy mini grids.

“This MoU demonstrates our commitment to roll-out this RESCOs model,” Abba Abubakar Aliyu added.

According to to the announcement, the partnership will introduce new energy service models, including virtual power plants (VPPs), facilitate the adoption of energy-efficient appliances and PUE devices, as well as bring in various value-added services, such as e-mobility, agricultural processing, cold storage and e-cooking.

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