Good news for renewables: Dutch company Lumos Global has been awarded a slice of a $75 million World Bank grant to power over a million homes in Nigeria with solar power.
This is especially important in a country of 200 million people, where 40 percent do not have access to electricity. It builds on Lumos’ experience in Nigeria, fitting 100,000 homes with solar energy.
“The market is enormous,” Lumos chief executive officer Alistair Gordon told the website Bloomberg. “Having some assistance with that significant capex outlay and investment through these sorts of grants is a real help.”
Every time Lumos installs solar panels, it will receive a fee from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The company’s remit is larger than just rural areas: It will focus on towns and cities where there’s an unreliable electricity supply, offering an energy solution that the company says is “three or four times” cheaper than a kerosene or diesel generator.
We are committed to the Nigerian population to end electricity poverty, in every community across the country.
Our goal is to provide clean, affordable & reliable electricity to every community, improving the socio-economic progress of its citizens!https://t.co/yd5cBhyfpv pic.twitter.com/IIhiyml1Qe— Lumos (@LumosGlobal) December 2, 2019
These generators are increasingly commonplace across the country. Bloomberg adds that around three quarters of Nigeria’s energy capacity can’t make it to homes because of an aging power network in need of an overhaul. Recent plans have been put in motion with electrical company Siemens to expand transmission.
While Lumos’ solar system isn’t free—customers have to pay a joining fee, an installation charge and a monthly fee via their mobile phones—the service will help families use renewable energy to power small electrical appliances used domestically or for business, including lights, TVs and sewing machines.
“The REA knows that solar is the quickest way that everyone is going to get power as fast as they can,” Gordon added.
