EU, Nigeria’s GVE Build N242.9m Solar Mini Grid in Two Plateau Communities

By Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The European Union (EU), Germany and indigenous renewable energy firm, Green Village Electricity (GVE) Project Limited have completed and activated two solar mini grid plants with the collective capacity to generate 100 kilowatts (KW) of clean electricity to power two communities – Angwan Rina and Demshin in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State.

With the completion and commissioning of the projects by the Governor of Plateau, Mr. Simon Lalong, at the weekend in the communities, up to 2500 people are expected to have access to clean sustainable energy.

The Managing Director of GVE, Mr. Ifeanyi Orajaka, disclosed to THISDAY at the projects’ sites that the two solar mini grids, with 50kW capacity each, were constructed at the cost of €681,000 (N242, 892,270 according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate of N356.67 to one euro).

Orajaka also noted that the project was done under the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), jointly financed by the European Union and government of Germany, with 61 per cent of the cost sourced from the partners while 39 per cent was provided by GVE.

He explained that both communities were predominantly engaged in agriculture and allied services, adding that electricity from the mini grid solar system would be used to process produce from their farms.

According to him, the systems were built with smart metering facilities with which the community members would pay as they use the electricity they generate.

He, however, did not disclose how much the cost per kilowatt hour would be but noted that the communities which had no link with the national grid for electricity would now enjoy stable power from the solar plant.

“Cumulatively it costs about €681,000 out of which public sector partners provided 61 per cent, while GVE Project Limited invested 39 per cent of the total project cost.

“We have very smart intelligence prepaid meters installed up the poles, which runs on a pay-as-you-go technology, meaning that the communities will use power on a pay-as-you-go basis,” said Orajaka.

He further stated: “We are planning to very shortly increase the capacity of the system to 100kW each because this place is well known for its agro-based prowess. We anticipate some increase in demands because this will most likely lead to urban-rural migration as against rural-urban migration.

“Businesses and agricultural processing firms can now come here because there is stable electricity from this system. Community people will also enjoy power from the system to power their homes and run their businesses.”

According to the projects partners, the Angwan-Rina and Demshin solar mini-grid projects are among six mini grid projects implemented under the NESP.

They explained that altogether, these projects will provide electricity to over 10,000 people across five states of Ogun, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto and Cross-River. 

Also, through the NESP, the EU and German government support the ministry of power and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s power sector to ensure that energy solutions such as the mini-grid approach are replicated and scaled up in the country.

They noted that an additional 100,000 rural inhabitants in several states across Nigeria would receive support from the programme until 2020.