Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), says that project equity investment is a key factor to avert the hurdles of accessing government intervention funds for climate financing.
The Vice President of REAN, Mr Adetunji Iromini, said this, while speaking on why funding challenges and accessibility to government funds persists in spite of several funds deployed to upscale renewable energy in Nigeria.
Iromini, also the CEO of Solar Centric Technologies Limited, stressed that while these funds had been rolled out via specialized government banks, there were rigorous processes due to the high-risk perception of the sector.
”Renewable Energy is new in Nigeria, progress has been slow, we still have a lot to do and we also need more policies that can help us grow and become better in the sector.
“However, it’s a new environment from five years ago when we started, we have moved, we now have banks who will give up to N20 million loans at zero collateral.
“For Solar Centric, we understand that projects are very huge and capital intensive, but lack of capacity in developing viable projects and correctly access project risks are also concerns for stakeholders.
“As I speak to you, we have 350 million dollars from the World Bank and another estimated amount of 150 million dollars from Africa Development Bank but how many bankable projects being brought forward are accessible.
“With project equity investment you do not need to go to the bank, you can simply come to us because our focus is on the residential sector, communities, power, and industrial sectors.
“This is one of the easiest ways to deploy acquisition of solar in Nigeria, that is how it has worked in other parts of the world, we absolve the customer completely from the rigors of loan processing,’’ he said.
Iromini also mentioned a process known as “Net metering” a “billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for electricity added to the grid as a way of investing in solar technology.