$200m Invested in Off Grid Renewable Energy
The off grid renewable energy space which most experts describe as the future of the Nigerian power sector have been said to enjoy an investment capacity of up to $200 million in the last few years.
This was disclosed in Lagos by the Head of Power and Infrastructure, Corporate and Investment Banking, Standard Bank, Abiodun Oni, at the Nigeria Off Grid Investment Opportunities Workshop organised by Energy Mix Limited to give more insight to potential investors in the sector.
According to him, this figure would continue to increase because there is a lot of support from global financing for renewable and what is required further to spur the market more is access to commercial lending windows to accelerate growth.
“What we need to do is establish the right mechanisms to allow projects access that kind of window, already the first infrastructural bond was issued in December of last year. So I believe if we can unlock that space then it will be a significant advantage for the renewable energy sector,” Oni observed.
The Founder of Energy Mix Limited, Noma Garrick, who described the workshop as an avenue to give more insight and clarity to issues regarding financing and legal aspects of the market to potential investors, pointed out that renewable energy is the future of the Nigerian power sector, and the huge cost involved in building mega power structures and large generation plants at the moment is very high.
Garrick explained that looking at it from a small scale perspective such as mini grids, standalones, solar, there are lots of opportunities for investors to come in, but the need to rest their fears on financing and legal issues is necessary.
He advanced that various stakeholders in the nation’s power value chain are doing their best, adding that: “but basically in terms of covering the entire country, I think is a tall order to leave that to them”.