Lender launches N1 billion solar energy fund

folarin okunola

January 23, 2017 10:59 AM

The BOI has spent about N240 million on six pilot projects in all the geo-political zones of the country.

A general view shows solar panels used to produce renewable energy at the photovoltaic park in Cestas, southwestern France, June 19, 2015. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has launched a N1 billion fund aimed at boosting Nigeria's off-grid electricity generation targets.

According to the BOI, the money would be made available to firms partnering with it in the development of solar energy services across the country.

"The initiative will help reduce cost of business, as current study shows that alternative power source costs 40 percent of expenditure by the manufacturing sector," said Waheed Olagunju, acting managing director of the BOI.

Olagunju revealed that the BOI had spent about N240 million on six pilot projects in all the geo-political zones of the country, adding that Nigerians and Nigerian-owned businesses will soon be able to afford alternative sources of power.

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“The Bank is already playing an active role in Lighting up and powering Nigeria through the provision of solar energy solutions for rural communities, having successfully deployed solar solutions worth N240 million to six (6) off-grid communities, one (1) each in Niger, Osun, Gombe, Anambra, Edo and Kaduna States, under its pilot scheme," he said.

"These communities with an average of 200 homes each previously had no access to electricity, but since the provision of clean, reliable and sustainable solar electricity, the lives of the indigenes of these communities have changed significantly."

The bank is working with organisations such as the UNDP and relevant state governments to achieve its aims, starting with the N1 billion Solar Energy Fund.

folarin okunola