Speaking on the agreement, Mr. Damilola Ajayi, Group Executive Director at Vetiva, stated that “the signing of this MOU is another important step in facilitating flow of funding towards bankable, commercially viable and environmentally friendly energy projects in Nigeria and, indeed, the rest of Africa. This does not only provide alternative capital deployment channels for investors but seeks to contribute to addressing the energy deficit in Nigeria”.

Vetiva, in November 2018, announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Climate Bonds Initiative (UK) to develop a liquid green and climate bond market in Africa. This agreement, alongside Vetiva’s strategic partnership with Climate Finance Advisory Limited and African Guarantee Fund West Africa (AGF), is in line with Vetiva’s commitment to make the African continent more attractive to capital flows, in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, necessary for long-term infrastructure projects. Vetiva and its partners are proud of their shared vision to not only channel long-term funding into Africa, but also do so whilst addressing the challenges posed by climate change. It is Vetiva’s firm belief that Africa is positioned to lead the climate change conversation globally, whilst deepening the continent’s capital markets.

Ms. Adidja ZANOUVI, Managing Director of AGF West Africa reaffirmed African Guarantee Fund’s commitment in promoting a sustainable and environmental friendly economic growth in Africa. She stated “In 2016, AGF introduced a Green Guarantee Facility geared towards increasing financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. In line with this, AGF West Africa is pleased, to be part of this tripartite partnership as a partial guarantor to enhance access to finance for climate and green growth-oriented SMEs in Nigeria and West Africa at large”.

Dr. Jubril Adeojo, Director and Chief Investment Adviser at Climate Finance Advisory Limited, speaking on the agreement, said that “the ultimate aim of the tripartite partnership is to create green asset portfolio in excess of $100million over a period of 5 years. AGF will provide up to 50% partial risk guarantee to enable green energy project developers access up to 10 years long-term local currency concessional loans to implement their green projects. The green energy projects that qualify are captive power and mini- grid power projects where renewables and gas are preferred sources of energy. On the final note, we are glad that the program has come when Nigeria is strategically making laudable moves to attain its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement on combating climate change.”

Vetiva Capital Management Limited is a Pan-African Financial Services Company incorporated in Nigeria and duly regulated and registered by the Nigerian Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to carry on business as an Issuing House and Financial Adviser. Also, the company, through subsidiaries, is registered to act as Fund/Portfolio Managers, Trustees and Broker/Dealer by the Nigerian SEC. Vetiva has expertise working hand-in-hand with international advisers, having worked on a number of cross border transactions which include a dual listing on the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, listed GDRs for Nigerian Companies as well as other capital raising transactions with international components.

AFRICAN GUARANTEE FUNDis an AA- Fitch rated Pan-African non-bank financial institution. AGF contributes to the promotion of economic development, vital for prosperity, stability and poverty reductionin Africa through two lines of interventions.

• Provision of partial guarantees to financial institutions to facilitate access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. AGF offers three types of guarantees: Loan Guarantees, Resource Mobilization Guarantees and Equity Guarantees.

• Provision of Capacity Development support to the Partner Financial Institutions to improve their ability to properly assess SME risks and to the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to build their capacity for easier access to finance.

AGF West Africa is a subsidiary of the AGF Group and oversees the Group’s operations within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Climate Finance Advisory Limited is an indigenous advisory firm with Pan-African outlook, poised with the strategic direction to crystallize the flow of various forms of intervention funds and investment required to spur the development of Africa’s infrastructure and critical economic sectors via climate finance methodologies. CFAL has expertise in the areas of climate finance, renewable energy technologies deployment, sustainable agriculture, and Blockchain deployment for the financial services sector.

CLIMATE FINANCE ADVISORY LIMITED
8th March, 2019
Contact:info@climatefinanceadvisory.com
Website: www.climatefinanceadvisory.com

Greenlight Planet, a solar home energy company, said it has delivered clean energy to more than two million individuals in Nigeria, while focusing on rapid innovation of its product and distribution strategy.

On a mission to power the underserved, Greenlight Planet began distributing its Sun KingTM solar home energy products in the country in 2011.

Speaking on its journey in Nigeria so far, Global Business Leader, Sun King-Easy-Buy, Dhaval Radia, said: “Over the last seven years, we have sold more than 500,000 life-changing Sun KingTM solar solutions in Nigeria through strategic distribution partnerships and our own pay-as-you-go distribution channel.

Customers have been quick to recognise that an investment in a Sun King product more than pays for itself over time, with several customers experiencing dramatic improvements in household savings, increased productivity for their small businesses and additional study time for their children.”

He added that the quality and reliability of Sun King TM solar home systems has helped the organisation build a loyal customer base over time. “While we are humbled by the warm acceptance of our products so far, for us this is just the beginning to reaching the 101 million individuals still living without basic access to electricity in Nigeria.

“To ensure that our products are affordable for even the most cash-constrained households, we launched our ‘EasyBuyTM’ pay-as-you-go distribution channel in early 2017,” he said.

According to him, the company’s products enabled with EasyBuyTM (PAYG technology) now allow potential users with limited access to financing to pay for the Sun KingTM products in small instalment over time.

The organisation’s vision, he said, is to establish a world-class distribution and energy financing eco-system for the vast off-grid populations of rural Nigeria. “With our rigorous efforts and continued innovation, our goal is to power 30 million lives by 2030 in Nigeria. As a company, we envision a world where access to clean, affordable energy allows every individual to maximise his or her potential.

A key function of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), as contained in Section 32(d) of the Electricity Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005, is to ensure that prices charged by licensees are fair to customers, and sufficient to allow operators finance their activities, and provide reasonable earnings for efficient operation.

In pursuant of this mandate, NERC established a methodology for regulating electricity prices called, the Multi-Year Tariff Order.The MYTO provides a 15-year tariff path for the Nigerian Electricity Industry with minor reviews each year, to reflect changes in a limited number of parameters such as inflation, and gas prices.

The MYTO also provides for a major review every five years, when all inputs are re-evaluated with stakeholders.The current MYTO, the first, came into effect in November 2013; however, operators argue that NERC has not implemented the cost-reflective tariff, as envisaged under the MYTO arrangement.They said: “it is unfortunate that after almost five years, NERC is yet to implement the key clauses of the five years performance agreement the federal government signed with the DisCos.”

The three key areas, which have been ignored, are the cost-reflective tariff, a clean debt-free book, which DisCos were supposed to inherit, and the N100 billion annual subventions for two years to bridge the gap between what consumers pay and the actual cost of electricity.Up till this time, DisCos are still been forced to sell their product at an average retail price of ₦32 per kilowatt hour (kWh), for a product that should sell at ₦80/kWh.

The implication of this gross underfunding, and other fall-outs such as interest charges, electricity marketing stabilisation fund, historical debts etc is that as at now the total shortfall in the sector is to the tune of ₦1.35 trillion and still growing.

Accordingly, they insisted that the current situation is unsustainable, as government, through NERC, needs to intervene by resetting the market, seeing as it has not fulfilled its own side of the bargain.They also argued that only way the distribution end of the value chain can work as envisaged; and by extension ensure that all other members of the value chain operated effectively, and efficiently, is for the government to re-negotiate with the DisCos, clean the debt books, and commence the implementation of a cost-reflective tariff as enunciated in the MYTO.”

They further suggested that a way out of the power sector underfunding and ending supply crisis, is to immediately commence the implementation of the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP), which envisiges that the market shortfall will be addressed through:

The rest of the region has an average grid access rate of about 20 percent, and even when there is access, there is never enough to go round. This means that on the average, about 625 million people in Africa do not have access to energy. There is an increase in investments coming into Africa, and the infrastructure deficit, especially in the area of energy, is crippling these investment opportunities. Certainly, the continent is in a dire energy crisis that it needs to fix, and it does have the energy resources it needs to fix it.

While the quest for an energy-rich Africa is at the front-burner of the discourse on economic development, there is side-by-side the global conversation on climate change, sustainability and clean energy; a constant reminder of the continent’s commitments to international treaties and various regional, and sub-regional agreements on environmental protection.

This means that Africa has to grapple with development while putting sustainability into consideration for every step of the journey. This has driven the move for cleaner energy forms like gas and renewable energy in recent times. Unlike fossil energy projects however, which (while having their own peculiar challenges) are a familiar terrain for investors, renewable energy (RE) projects do not spell certainty of any kind. Apart from the fact that they are expensive to undertake and there are very few bankable RE projects on the continent, the immediate metrics and mathematics for investing in fossils look better than that of an RE project.

Thus, accessing bank loans, project financing, syndicated loans, and equity for RE projects have proved a tad difficult. Yet seven of the ten most suitable countries for renewable energy potential are in Africa, so it is only a no-brainer that the continent should drive investment in that sector.

With the rising challenge of financing RE projects, there has been a foray into innovative and alternative means of financing for which Private Equity (PE), Venture Capital (VC) funding, Pension funds, Sovereign Wealth funds, and Green Bonds have been explored. An alternative financing method that has not been explored as much though, is crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a financing method that uses the power of digital and mobile technology and the internet to pool resources from a large number of people, in varying amounts to fund projects. The routine thought that follows the mention of crowdfunding is a Gofundme or Kickstarter account entreating people to fund a charity project or a humanitarian cause. While this is part of what crowdfunding is, it is not all of it.

Crowdfunding in fact includes investing in projects and ventures, through pooling capital from various individuals while offering them return on investments (ROIs) either in form of equity or debt. In this form, it is usually referred to as investment crowdfunding.

The crowdfunding market, unsurprisingly, is doing pretty well around the globe, as most people are seeking new forms of investment outside traditional means; also because technology and the internet have disrupted a lot in the investment market, and finally, because projects are actively exploring new methods of funding that do not have the bottlenecks of bank loans and other traditional methods. In fact the global value of crowdfunding in 2015 stood at $34.4 billion, topping the global investments in VC funding in the same year which stood at $30 billion. Sadly though, Africa contributes only less than half of one percent to the global crowdfunding market.

Still, there are prospects for crowdfunding Africa’s power sector, especially with the rise of mini-grids and off-grid projects, Independent Electricity Distribution Networks (IEDNs) and the Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariffs (REFITs).

Many African countries too, realising the benefits of privatisation, have tapped into it for their core industries including energy and this has enabled private players to get more involved in investment. The investment appetite for African projects by foreign investors also works for the continent in many ways. The global call to combat climate change is an enabling factor for tapping into the need for social good in crowdfunding RE projects. Crowdfunding in Africa has mostly been explored in Eastern Africa, and even that, has not been done on a large scale.

However, the results from that sub-region show that if explored in-depth by the continent, there are very favourable prospects. With crowdfunding, the need for sustainable and clean energy is met while simultaneously solving the problem of financing. Essentially, it will serve as a commingling of technology, finance, energy and social good, birthing a formidable solution for the continent. The Ubuntu and community spirit of Africa also sits well with this form of financing, as it piggy-backs on local involvement in finding solutions. Furthermore, with high interest rate and constrained access to credit in Africa, crowdfunding will provide a viable option for small off-grid projects requiring financing.

While it is appreciated that there are challenges to crowdfunding in Africa, especially with the continent’s legal regime, high level of technological illiteracy andlow level of confidence in online platforms and mobile technology, the possibilities are enormous. It is an area the region should explore to close its energy infrastructure gap, encourage investments and avoid the deleterious effect of carbon-intensive development.

In collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Siemens and its consortium partners, Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, have announced the completion of the Egypt Megaproject in record time.

The parties celebrated the combined cycle commissioning and the start of operations at the Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital power plants.

The stations will add a total of 14.4GW of power generation capacity to the country’s national grid, enough power to supply up to 40 million people.

Commenting on this milestone, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said: “The completion of the power plants is a significant milestone in the government’s strategy to modernise energy infrastructure in Egypt to drive industrial growth and economic progress.”

“This is also why the plants were built in select locations across the country to serve the growing demand for electricity among households, businesses and industries. This new power infrastructure will serve as the backbone for economic prosperity in Egypt for years to come.”

Siemens underlined that together with Egypt they have set a new world record for execution of modern, fast-track power projects, delivering 14.4 GW of power in only 27.5 months.

“The record-breaking completion of our Megaproject in Egypt will not only transform the power landscape in Egypt, but will also serve as a blueprint for building up power infrastructure in the Middle East and all over the world,” said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

“This Megaproject is also setting the benchmark for trustful and reliable cooperation with our customer and our partners. The leadership of President al Sisi and his team in this project has been remarkable. We look forward to apply this unique performance model also to other countries in their efforts towards reliable, affordable and sustainable power systems,” stated Kaeser.

About the Megaproject

Each of the three power plants are powered by eight SGT5-8000 H-class gas turbines, 4 steam turbines, 12 generators, 8 Siemens heat recovery steam generators, 12 transformers as well as a 500-kilovolt gas-insulated switchgear.

To improve the resilience of Egypt’s power grid, Siemens has successfully energised six substations that will transmit electricity generated by the new power plants.

The company has also provided training to 600 local engineers and technicians, who will be responsible for operating and maintaining the plants, helping to expand skills and knowledge of the local workforce.

Group Managing Director, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, who was Distinguished Lecturer at the 12th Mechanical Engineers Distinguished Lecture, an event organised by the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers also stressed the need to grow the renewable energy market in Nigeria in an effort to move towards cleaner sources of power.

He stated that revolution would enhance global energy security, promote enduring economic growth and tackle environmental challenges, and break the long-standing link between economic growth and carbon dioxide emission levels.

Baru said: “Nigeria on its part is endowed with tremendous prospects of growth in renewable technologies on account of readily available hydroelectric potentials, longer hours of sunshine in the northern part of the country and impressive wind speeds in the coastal and mountainous regions and land mass for the cultivation of energy crops like cassava, sugar cane etc.”

Dr. Baru, in the presentation entitled: Fast Tracking the Paradigm Shift from Fossil Fuel Driven Economy to Renewable Energy noted that the Corporation was favourably disposed to institutional collaboration and academic partnership with universities and research centres in promoting research and innovation aimed of diversifying the energy sector.

Tracing the advent of the consciousness for the development of bio-fuels technology in the country to the establishment of the Renewable Energy Division of the NNPC in August 2005 and the subsequent formulation of the Renewable Energy Master Plan, the NNPC GMD said through the years the Corporation had remained a beacon in the pursuit of alternative energy sources to complement the nation’s massive hydrocarbon base.

He added that ongoing efforts to create a diversified energy base could benefit much from in-country capabilities and ingenious technological support of experts in the areas mechanical and electrical engineering.

Baru listed the required fields of competence to include: system reliability, control theory and modeling stimulation, mechanics-mounting heavy components, designing for shock & vibration, heavy power equipment, as well as skills in enclosure/packing designs.

Other competences required are: skills in magnetics design common in every single solar, wind, electric vehicle and power distribution box; skills in thermodynamics involving thermal and airflow designs; as well as ability to handle rotating machinery and monitor materials reliability and cost.
According to him, NNPC as the leading energy entity in the country was more than ready to partner with the Nigerian engineering community to achieve its mandate.

The Central Energy Fund of South Africa and ACWA Power have entered into a cooperation agreement to co-invest in renewable energy projects the first of which will be the 100MW Redstone concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant in the country’s Northern Cape Province.

The agreement was signed on the occasion of South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, recent state visit to Saudi Arabia.

The CSP plant will go into construction later this year and feature solar energy storage technology that will allow solar energy to be utilised to generate electricity not only when the sun is shining but also through the night cumulatively dispatching 480,000MWh per year. Read more: Kathu Solar Park CSP plant connected to Eskom’s grid

The plant will use a central salt receiver technology with 12 hours of thermal storage allowing the plant to generate during the evening peak demand periods. In addition, while photovoltaics (PV) or wind cannot serve the evening peak unless then linked with utility-scale batteries which are extremely expensive, the CSP Central Tower solution will in comparison generate cost competitively more than double the MWh output of electrical energy per the rated MW capacity.

The document was signed by Godfrey Moagi, acting group CEO of the Central Energy Fund and in the presence of Cyril Ramaphosa, the Saudi Minister of Finance Minister Mohamed Al-Jadaan, the Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed Al Qassabi, the Minister of State for African Affairs, Ahmed Qattan, the Saudi Ambassador to South Africa Ghurm Al-Malhan and Chairperson of the Council of Saudi Chambers Dr. Sami Al Obaidy in addition to ACWA Power’s Chairman Mohamed Abunayyan and President & Chief Executive Officer, Paddy Padmanathan.

Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, commented: “We are pleased to enter into this agreement, which further strengthens our efforts supporting South Africa’s renewable energy programme. We are committed to providing the country with the most advanced and versatile solar technology solutions which can efficiently and reliably produce clean energy throughout the 24 hour period if called upon to do so.

“As efficient means of meeting rising energy demand is crucial for enabling economic growth, we will continue to explore opportunities to increase production capacity and keep challenging costs to help the country meet its requirements. Our projects in the country have, and will, also tangibly contribute towards empowering the previously marginalised population of South Africa and support socio-economic development through thousands of jobs being created over the coming decades.”

Paddy Padmanathan, Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, added: “With capital and operating cost of CSP plants with molten salt storage solution reducing at the same time as demand for cost competitive renewable energy increases in South Africa, our Redstone CSP plant will be able to deliver stable cost competitive electricity supply to more than 210,000 South African homes during peak demand periods which are during the night.

“CSP technology will allow power generation well after sun set and does not require back up fuel. Recognising the scarcity of water, the plant we will install will utilise the dry cooling option thus minimising water use, which also makes it one of the most appealing renewable energy options available in the world.”

InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed a Shareholders Agreement (SHA) with local developer Tora Holding (Tora).

The SHA formalises InfraCo Africa’s role as lead developer and majority shareholder in the Pavua hydro power project in Mozambique.

Located in Central Mozambique’s Beira corridor, the Pavua project will build a dam and hydro power plant on the Pungué River with the potential to deliver up to 160MW of much-needed clean power to Mozambique’s national grid.

Operating to the highest international standards, the plant is designed to also enable regulation of water levels downstream, mitigating the impact of floods and dry periods on agricultural productivity and domestic drinking water supplies.

Alex Katon, InfraCo Africa’s Executive Director, said: “Signing the Pavua SHA consolidates the work we are doing with our local partners to develop one of Mozambique’s first renewable energy IPPs.”

“The project will not only support Mozambique’s efforts to meet growing demand for power but will help to mitigate the effects of seasonal rainfall fluctuations and climate change on water supplies in the economically important Beira corridor.”

InfraCo Africa has committed $7.9m to fund early-stage development costs for the Pavua project, as well as providing experienced resource (through its principal developer, eleQtra).

The SHA marks an important step in the development of the Pavua project as, with the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment work nearing completion, the project is now looking to raise finance with the intention of commencing construction in 2020.

“We are very pleased to close another milestone with our partners InfraCo Africa / eleQtra and proceed with the development of Pavua that is indeed very important for the distribution of Mozambique electricity, increasing capacity in the region as well as uplifting communities in the centre of the country,” said Dario Tome, CEO of Tora Holding.

The World Bank said on Thursday it had approved a total of $2.1 billion in concessionary loans to fund projects in Nigeria aimed at improving access to electricity, promoting governance and empowering women.

Most of the projects will be financed through the International Development Association, the concessionary-lending unit of the World Bank, the Washington, D.C.-based institution said Thursday in a statement.

“The approved projects support the implementation of the government’s growth plan,” World Bank Nigeria country director Rachid Benmessaoud said, according to the statement.

Nigeria’s 2017-2020 “Economic Recovery and Growth Plan”, released last year, seeks to revive the oil-reliant economy which contracted in 2016 due to a drop in crude revenues.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who signed a record-high 9.1 trillion-naira ($25 billion) budget last week, is pushing to increase investment in roads, power and ports in a bid to boost economic growth to 3.5 percent this year.

The largest of the seven projects, with $750 million of World Bank financing, seeks to help increase efficiency in government spending and improve accountability, according to the World Bank’s statement.

Another $400 million was earmarked to tackle land erosion and support Nigeria’s climate resilience, while $350 million was allocated to solar power projects and the supply of electricity to several universities and hospitals.

Nigeria’s energy output per capita is said to be one of the lowest in the world. It also approved a $7 million grant for nutrition.

“The FGN cannot cover the huge infrastructural deficit on its own, hence the agreements with multilateral and other agencies. The power sector is clearly a priority,” said Gregory Kronsten, head macroeconomic research, FBNQuest.

As for the borrowing costs, Kronsten said the loans will attract sub-market concessional rates which are cheaper than the Eurobonds and naira bonds.

After six success quarters of negative GDP growth, Nigeria turned the corner in second quarter of 2017.  GDP growth is projected at 2.0 percent in 2018 by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria’s research.

However, growth slowed again in the first quarter of 2018, as the country’s non-oil sector struggled. The government expects growth to rise to a pre-recession level of 7 percent by 2020.

“Investment in power sector will be very beneficial to the country,” said Johnson Chukwu, managing director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited.

Nigeria privatised most of its power sector in 2013 but retained control of its dilapidated monopoly transmissiongrid, often blamed for hobbling growth.

Africa’s largest oil producer plans to raise $2.8 billion Eurobond to help part-finance its 2018 budget and looks at exploring all options to lower costs.

Responding to the World Bank loans, Ayodele Akinwunmi, head of research, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited said “This is positive for the Nigerian economy and the electricity sector. World Bank, being a development institution, usually lends money to projects and countries at a rate that is lower than the market rate and the tenor is usually longer than what most countries can access from commercial banks”.

Meanwhile Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said, contributions from the NNPC to the nation’s Federation Account were not in line with expectations and deemed “unacceptable.”
“Based on oil price, oil quantity you can pretty much calculate what you are expecting to see in the Federation Account and if the figure is less, then the right question that any stakeholder must ask is why?” the minister said.
Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account, which holds the country’s oil savings, has a balance of $1.9 billion dollars, she said.

The intervention according to the Minister is to ensure that salaries are not delayed “ Further negotiations and interactions is going on with NNPC as we speak. However, We did brief both the President and Vice President on the deadlock and asked for their support and their forbearance in this because the consequence of this is that, salaries might well be delayed in many states as a result of this.”

“For the purpose of this briefing, we operate NNPC as a business, we have invested public capital in that business and we have expectations of return and when that return fails lower than our expectations then the owners of this business which in this case in the federal government and states need to act”

The Minister appealed to the Governors adding that “we have asked for forbearance and the governors and the federal government are all in agreement that we need to get to the bottom of those figures.

“ In particular, now that the oil price is now $76 per barrel in the spot market which means that bonny light is about $78, we want to be aggressively putting money away into the excess crude account. “

“So we are very conscious that this period, this window of relatively high oil price might not last and we will like to be able to save. If we cannot get into the federation account the sort of revenues we are expecting then we will not be able to save. So it was a very important point really underscored by all the governors and they really want action taken and they are fully in support of the positions of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the commissioners of finance not to approve those accounts until we get further explanations on some of the cost being implemented.”

Indian High Commissioner, Nagabhushana Reddy, at a Business meeting in Abuja, said the home government was committed to deriving at least 30 per cent of its power needs from renewable energy by 2030.

Reddy noted that exploring areas of cooperation in renewable energy would build on existing partnerships between both countries, especially as Nigeria, was member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

According to him, ISA intends to provide dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries and mobilise $1 trillion funds for future solar generation, storage and technology across the world.

He said: “We are opening a new chapter of India-Nigeria economic engagement by moving into the power sector relating to renewable energy. India had been present in Nigeria in the power sector mostly in the areas of distribution and transmission.”

Reddy also said that both countries would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the renewable sector to create a joint working group to develop projects for enhanced and effective collaboration.

Earlier, President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kayode Adetokunbo, called on the Federal Government to harmonise policies on renewable energy to create single body for the implementation of relevant policies.

Adetokunbo said: “There is no clarity in policies and we need all the advantages solar power and renewable energy can offer and put it in one agency that has multi-sectoral approach so that other relevant agencies can work together as a team.”

He added that promoting synergy among stakeholders would create jobs and fast track economic development in line with the government’s economic growth plan.

A representative of Nigerian chapter of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, Rajneesh Gupta, said that there are ongoing enlightenment campaigns on promoting renewable energy in Nigeria.

He said: “Simba Solar has been educating Nigerians on renewable energy technologies, and how it can deliver value. We are also training electricians and budding entrepreneurs that can key into these technologies to the end users.”

“Electricity generation is fluctuating this year, peaking 5,090megawatts as government continued to show determination to produce an energy mix with 30 per cent component of renewable energy out of the gross energy produced by 2030.”