Universal Energy Facility (UEF) Offers Grants to Solar Projects in Nigeria

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The renewable energy expansion is expected to reach new heights in the African country of Nigeria as Universal Energy Facility (UEF) has announced providing grants to RE companies who applied to have their projects financed as part of the facility’s stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria. UEF is a results-based financing facility managed by Sustainable Energy for All.

UEF said that RE companies in Nigeria will now begin construction on their proposed solar projects which are designed to connect businesses and services to a clean, affordable and reliable electricity source.

The Universal Energy Facility (UEF) is a multi-donor results-based finance facility established to significantly speed up and scale up energy access across Sub-Saharan Africa, in line with SDG7 and the Paris Agreement.

According to UEF, the solar power projects will span most states in Nigeria and be completed within the next 12 months. 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 standalone solar projects 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 in Nigeria.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, said, “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 Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan showing how the country will achieve universal energy access by 2030 and net-zero emissions by mid-century. The UEF 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.

The Stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria opened for applications in August 2022 and received expressions of interest from hundreds of energy developers.

Simon Harford, CEO, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, stated, “The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is proud to support the Universal Energy Facility’s efforts to offer targeted, country-specific solutions in those communities most affected by energy poverty and climate change. The UEF has the potential to become a unifying force and the platform of choice for those interested in results-based financing.”

This is the first grant funding window under the stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria. The UEF said that it has identified many additional viable projects for financing in future waves.