A Nigerian mini-grid participant named Husk Power Systems has secured finance for solar mini-grid projects in Nasarawa State totaling $750.000.
According to Nairametrics, the loan was made accessible by a German development finance organization.
Husk intends to build eight new community solar microgrids in the state of Nasarawa. Funds from DEG’s Up-Scaling Program, which is co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, were distributed.
The financing, which Husk says is the first loan it has ever raised for its operations in Nigeria, where it now operates 12 microgrids and plans to construct 500 mini-grids by the year 2026, is the first of its kind. The loan must be repaid in five years.
More than 500 residential and commercial users are anticipated to be connected by the 8 microgrids that will be installed in Nasarawa state.
More than 500 residential and commercial users are anticipated to be connected by the 8 microgrids that will be installed in Nasarawa state.
The 50,000 residents of 8 settlements in Nasarawa state will benefit from the 8 solar mini-grids when they are finished in the first half of 2023 (H1 2023) along with lowering carbon emissions by at least 600 tons, the solar mini-grid projects (CO2e).
This will be accomplished by removing more than 100 diesel generators from the eight towns where the mini-grids will be installed.
Husk Power co-founder, Manoj Sinha described the transaction as cheap debt, adding that it gives the business a strong basis for obtaining more loans, including local currency debt, in 2023 and later.
Husk Power Systems has focused its attention on the state of Nasarawa since the company began operating in Nigeria in 2020. The business declared that it has increased the number of solar mini-grids in Nasarawa state in October 2022.
Meanwhile, the company has already begun selling appliances to the towns in Nasarawa state that are served by its microgrids, for both domestic and commercial needs (such as health centers, water purification, and agro-processing).
In Nigeria, Husk Power Systems was the first business to concurrently deploy many microgrids. 500 mini-grid locations are planned by the firm for Nigeria by 2026.
