Husk Power Systems, a player in the Nigerian mini-grid market, has won $750,000 in finance for solar mini-grid projects in Nasarawa State stating that the financing was provided by a German development finance organization (DEG).
Husk intends to build eight new community solar microgrids in the state of Nasarawa.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development co-finances DEG’s Up-Scaling Program, which is where the money was allotted from.
According to the business, the financing represents the first loan Husk has ever acquired for its operations in Nigeria, where it now operates 12 microgrids and plans to construct 500 mini-grids by the year 2026.
In five years, the debt must be repaid.
The Benefits: More than 500 residential and commercial customers are anticipated to be connected by the 8 microgrids that Nasarawa state plans to install. This is expected to result in a 400 percent decrease in the number of diesel generators in use and the creation of about 40 new direct local jobs.
In Nasarawa state, the 8 solar mini-grids will be finished in the first half of 2023 (H1 2023) and will provide electricity to 50,000 people in 8 localities.
The solar mini-grid projects will also lessen carbon emissions by at least 600 tons (CO2e).
Over 100 diesel generators will be removed from service across the eight areas where the mini-grids will be installed in order to accomplish this.
Husk Power co-founder Manoj Sinha described the transaction as reasonable debt and said it gives the business a strong basis for unlocking additional debt, including local currency debt, in 2023 and beyond.
Husk Power Systems started doing business in Nigeria in 2020, and since then, the company has focused on Nasarawa state as a place of interest.
The business declared in October 2022 that it has increased the number of solar mini-grids in Nasarawa state.
Husk has already started selling appliances to the communities covered by its microgrids in Nasarawa state, for both domestic and business use (such as health centers, water purification, and agro-processing).
Of this fact, the first business to concurrently deploy several microgrids in Nigeria was Husk Power Systems.
By 2026, the business hopes to have 500 mini-grid locations throughout Nigeria.
