Admin I Thursday, June 13, 2024
ABUJA, Nigeria – Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), a global organization dedicated to universal access to sustainable energy, has announced that its CEO and Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General, Damilola Ogunbiyi, will host a high-level delegation from The Rockefeller Foundation and Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) focused on expanding universal energy access and accelerating Nigeria’s transition to clean and affordable energy.
The delegation, which includes Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation; William Asiko, Vice President and head of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Regional Office; Wale Aboyade, interim Regional Head for Africa at GEAPP; Muhammad Wakil, GEAPP’s Country Lead for Nigeria; and other senior participants will include a mix of meetings with key public and private Nigerian stakeholders and visits to renewable energy projects that are fostering economic development, improving health outcomes, and empowering local communities.
Aligned with the new World Bank and African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) ambition to provide 300 million people in Africa with electricity access by 2030, these dialogues will also explore ways to leverage combined expertise and resources to accelerate Nigeria’s progress towards achieving universal energy access.
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, said: “This is a critical moment for Africa’s energy transformation. With the World Bank and the African Development Bank’s recent commitment to expand energy access to 300 million Africans by 2030, which The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet are proud to support, Nigeria is leading the way with innovative, people-centered solutions. The model Nigeria uses to empower 100 million people, one-third of that target, can provide a roadmap for Africa and the rest of the world.’’
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said: “I am extremely pleased to host this visit. Nigeria is an important country to focus on, as concerted efforts and greater partnerships are vital if we are to tackle the energy access challenge in this country, and this is why this visit is important as it galvanizes support for greater access to sufficient, affordable, and clean energy for the people of Nigeria.”
Wale Aboyade, interim Regional Head for Africa at GEAPP, said: “I am excited to join our Alliance partners as part of this important visit, which allows us to connect with our ultimate stakeholders who are the people in the countries that we aim to improve electricity access and livelihoods.
“By leveraging the strengths of our respective partners, we are accelerating our common mission to support vital countries like Nigeria in the shift to clean energy that can power inclusive, sustainable economic growth for the millions. In addition to the projects listed above, the trip also builds upon additional ongoing GEAPP-supported programs in the country, including the World Bank-led $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES).’’
In support of Nigeria’s climate leadership and progress on addressing energy poverty, the delegation will visit projects that are already exploring innovative solutions for expanding access to distributed renewable energy (DRE) across the country and see first-hand the impact and urgent need to scale deployment. A few examples include:
Solar Interconnected Mini Grids (IMGs). In Nigeria, GEAPP is pioneering a business model which allows the gap between electricity supply and demand on the grid to be met by solar IMGs installed in (or near) a community, which serves the customers during the day, while electricity distribution companies (DisCos) serve them at night. The long-term goal is to facilitate 10 gigawatts (GW) of such solutions across the country, with an initial aim of deploying IMG plants in each of the country’s 11 DisCos. The delegation plans to visit a 325- kilowatt (KW) IMG that has been operational for a few months managed by PowerGen, an international developer.
Energising Education Phase II (EEP II). EEP II is a Nigerian Government project under the National Electrification Project (NEP) and supported by the World Bank. It is a power plant being deployed in the University of Abuja and includes a hybrid solar power plant, supported by Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), which also includes powering hundreds of streetlights for added illumination and security on campus. In addition, a Workshop and Training Centre offers training to young people on renewable energy.
Universal Energy Facility (UEF). A results-based finance facility, UEF is managed by SEforALL and supported by GEAPP, Shell Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Africa Minigrid Developers Association, Bezos Earth Fund, Power Africa, Good Energies, UKaid, Carbon Trust, FCDO TEA, IKEA Foundation, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (BMZ), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). UEF’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) clusters, often markets, utilize innovative standalone solar systems and underscore the commitment of the Nigerian government to partners promoting sustainable energy solutions in the country.
