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Nigeria

Agreements Signed For 120 Megawatt Solar In Nigeria

written by saurabh

Two more project developers have signed financial risk agreements for utility-scale solar power projects in Nigeria strengthening the country’s roadmap towards becoming a major solar power market in Africa.

Local companies Afrinegia Nigeria Limited and CT Cosmos Nigeria Limited signed put/call option agreements with the Ministry of Power Works and Housing. Afrinegia Nigeria Limited will develop a 50 megawatt solar power project while CT Cosmos Nigeria Limited will set up a 70 megawatt solar power project.

A put/call options agreement helps in mitigation of financial risk to the project developers. These agreements transfer the payment risk from the state-owned company Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) directly to the ministry.

The agreements are part of Nigeria’s push towards large-scale deployment of solar power projects across the country. In July last year Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) signed power purchase agreements with more than 10 companies willing to develop around 975 megawatts of solar power capacity.

Subsequently, more companies, including Scatec Solar, a joint venture of Nigus Greenergy and Volt Renewables, Phanes Group and GreenWish Partners, also signed similar power purchase agreements with NBET.

In 2015, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy sourced electricity. As per the provisions of the regulations, electricity distribution companies will be required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources. The Commission also mandated that the balance 50% electricity would have to be sourced from NBET.

April 28, 2017 0 comment

GE To Set Up 500 MW Solar Power Capacity In Nigeria

written by saurabh

General Electric has become the latest foreign company to jump on the solar power bandwagon in Nigeria.

According to media reports, General Electric has signed memorandum of understanding with Nigeria to set up five solar power projects of 100 MW capacity each in the west African country. These projects shall come up in the states of Borno, Kebbi, Nassarawa, Niger and Taraba.

Over the last few months several foreign companies have either directly or in partnership with local firms signed agreements to set up large-scale solar power projects in Nigeria.

In July, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) signed the first power purchase agreements with solar power project developers. The NBET signed 12 PPAs with projects of 975 MW cumulative capacity. The developers shall sell power from these projects at US¢11.5/kWh for a period of 20 years.

A joint venture between Nigeria-based Nigus Greenergy and South Africa-based Volt Renewables signed an agreement to set up 300 MW solar power capacity. Paris-based investment company GreenWish Partners and Dubai-based Phanes Group separately signed deals to install 100 MW and 300 MW solar power capacity, respectively.

The development of solar power projects in Nigeria has full support and regulatory backing of the government. Last year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy sourced electricity. As per the provisions of the regulations, electricity distribution companies will be required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources. The Commission has also mandated that the balance 50% electricity would have to be sourced from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company.

November 30, 2016 0 comment

Phanes Group Plans 300 MW Solar PV Capacity In Nigeria

written by saurabh

Nigeria continues to attract foreign investment in its budding solar power market.

Dubai-based Phanes Group has announced plans to set up 300 MW solar PV capacity in the African country over the next three years. The capacity shall be divided into projects of 100 MW each.

The first project will be located in the Sokoto region while the other two will come up in Kadnuna and Kebbi. First phase of the first project (50 MW) is expected to be commissioned by Q1 2018. Power generated from the projects will be sold to local utilities through long-term power purchase agreements.

A number of companies recently signed agreements with the Nigerian government to set up utility-scale solar power projects. Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading signed long-term agreements for more than 1,000 MW of solar power projects.

Image by vectoropenstock.com for Cleantechies

November 28, 2016 0 comment

GreenWish Plans 100 MW Solar Power Capacity In Nigeria

written by saurabh

A Paris-based investment company has announced plans to set up utility-scale solar power projects in Nigeria.

GreenWish Partners, an investment company working in the renewable energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa has announced that it will se tup two solar power projects of 50 MW capacity each in northern Nigeria. The total investment for the projects is expected to be around US$130-150 million. The projects are expected to be commissioned next year.

These projects will likely be GreenWish’s first foray into the utility-scale solar market in Nigeria. The company already operates off-grid solar power sites for banks and telecom towers.

GreenWish CEO Chief Executive Officer Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian stated that Nigeria is an apt place to develop solar power projects due to high resource availability, increasing power demand, over-dependence on fossil fuels and the governmental support for development of renewable energy resources.

October 26, 2016 0 comment

Scatec Solar Wins 100 MW Solar Power Project In Nigeria

written by saurabh

Norwegian independent solar power provider, Scatec Solar, has signed an agreement with Canadian renewable energy group CDIL and Nigerian consulting company BPS for developing a 100 MW solar power plant project in Nigeria.

The 100 MW Nova Scotia Power plant will be built in Nigerian state of Jigawa. Scatec Solar will develop, build, own and operate the solar plant for which 25 year long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET). The plant is expected to reach financial close by 2017 and start commercial operations 12 months later.

Last month, NBET signed the first power purchase agreements with solar power project developers. The NBET signed 12 PPAs with projects of 975 MW cumulative capacity. The developers shall sell power from these projects at US¢11.5/kWh for a period of 20 years.

Last year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy sourced electricity. As per the provisions of the regulations, electricity distribution companies will be required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources. The Commission has also mandated that the balance 50% electricity would have to be sourced from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company.

Scatec Solar is a renowned solar power developer with portfolio of 404 MW of commissioned solar projects with majority of this capacity located in Africa. Company also has presence in Czech Republic, South Africa, Honduras, Jordan and the US.

The company is looking to develop a several large-scale solar power projects across Africa. It signed an agreement to set up 250 MW capacity in Egypt. It is also working on the largest solar power project in west Africa – 33 MW project in Mali.

August 27, 2016 0 comment

Nigeria Signs Agreement For 300 MW Solar Power Capacity

written by saurabh

Foreign investors continue to be attracted by the budding renewable energy market in Nigeria as the government there signed fresh agreements for large-scale solar power development.

According to media reports, two companies signed memoranda of understanding with the government of Nigeria to set up a total of 300 MW solar power capacity. Nigeria-based Nigus Greenergy and South Africa-based Volt Renewables formed a joint venture and signed the project development agreement.

The capacity shall be divided into three projects of 100 MW capacity each located in states of Andamawa, Kano and Kebbi. The power generated from the projects will be sold to Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) through a long-term agreement. The projects are expected to be operational by next year although tariff for the PPAs has not be disclosed yet.

Earlier this month, NBET signed the first power purchase agreements with solar power project developers. The NBET signed 12 PPAs with projects of 975 MW cumulative capacity. The developers shall sell power from these projects at US¢11.5/kWh for a period of 20 years.

July 27, 2016 0 comment

India EPC To Build 250 MW Solar Power Project In Nigeria

written by saurabh

Following the signing of first power purchase agreements for solar power projects, EPC contracts are being sealed for their final implementation in Nigeria.

India-based Sterling & Wilson will set up 250 MW solar power capacity in the west Africa country of Nigeria. The projects are part of the 975 MW capacity whose power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed by various project developers recently.

The government-owned Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) signed 12 PPAs with cumulative capacity of 975 MW. The developers shall sell power from these projects at US¢11.5/kWh for a period of 20 years.

Sterling & Wilson has managed to grab significant share in EPC contracts in some of the emerging solar power market in Africa. Last year, it landed contract to develop 300 MW solar power projects in Egypt. Additionally, it is also developing projects in Morocco (175 MW), South Africa (87 MW) and Niger (7 MW).

Over the last few months Nigeria has seen increased interest from foreign project developers. One of the reason for this is the regulatory support for the development of renewable energy projects.

Late last year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy sourced electricity. As per the provisions of the regulations, electricity distribution companies will be required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources. The Commission also mandated that the balance 50% electricity would have to be sourced from NBET.

July 27, 2016 0 comment

Nigeria Signs First Solar Power Purchase Agreements

written by saurabh

The west African nation of Nigeria took a major step recently towards the integration of utility-scale solar power projects into its grid.

Government-owned Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) recently announced that it signed the first power purchase agreements with solar power project developers. The NBET signed more than 10 PPAs with projects of more than 975 MW cumulative capacity; some more PPAs may be signed in the neat future.

The first project to sign a PPA with NBET is 75 MW solar PV project being developed by Pan Africa Solar. The developer expects to achieve financial closure for the project by next year. The developer has signed 20-year PPA with NBET to which it shall sell electricity at US¢11.5/kWh.

It is interesting to note that Nigeria has not taken the competitive auctions route to select projects, rather international project developers themselves approached the government with intentions of setting up large-scale solar power projects.

One of the reasons that project developers and investors are interested in the nascent solar power sector in Nigeria is the strong regulatory support for the promotion of renewable energy. Late last year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy sourced electricity. As per the provisions of the regulations, electricity distribution companies will be required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources. The Commission also mandated that the balance 50% electricity would have to be sourced from NBET.

In 2014, the Nigerian Government received pledges from three companies to set up a total of 1 GW of solar power capacity across the country. The entire program will include large utility-scale power projects as well as distributed power projects.

Also, SkyPower and FAS Energy signed a series of agreements to set up 3 GW of solar power capacity in the country. This capacity will be added through utility-scale projects and represents an investment worth $5 billion.

In late November 2014, two US-based companies pledged to set up a total solar power capacity of 1.2 GW by 2017. The projects will require a cumulative investment of $2 billion dollars and once operational will generate enough power to meet the demands of 1 million homes in the country.

July 18, 2016 0 comment

West African Countries Plan 2 GW Renewable Energy Corridor

written by saurabh

Several west African companies are planning partnership over a landmark renewable energy project which will also be a significant step towards interconnectivity in the power sector.

The ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) has proposed a 2 GW renewable energy corridor across the west African countries. The project could see contributions from wind, solar and hydro power projects from various countries.

According to media reports, Nigeria has agreed to contribute 1 GW capacity while others are expected to contribute between 200 MW and 500 MW. Contributions are likely to come largely from various sizes of solar power projects.
 ECREEE is currently working to identify possible sites for solar power projects and how much various countries can contribute towards the project. After sites for the projects are identified they are expected to be allocated through a common competitive auction.

Several west African countries have already attracted significant renewable energy investment.

Nigeria approved feed-in tariff regulations for renewable energy projects, with electricity distribution companies required to source at least 50% of their total procurement from renewable energy sources.

Several foreign project developers have already announced plans to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in Nigeria. Solius NGPC, Peoples Home Association, and Solar Force Nigeria Limited, all have plans to set up a cumulative solar power capacity of 1 GW. A joint venture company between SkyPower Global and FAS Energy plans to set up 3 GW of utility-scale solar power projects.

Hanergy Solar was reportedly working on a 400 MW solar power project in Ghana. Last year, the President of Ghana announced that the levy on petroleum products will be increased to $0.02 per litre. A part of the revenue raised from this levy will be used to establish the Renewable Energy Fund. Additionally, a levy of $0.02 will be charged on a per kWh basis on electricity transmitted. Revenue from this levy, too, will be used for supporting solar power projects.

Image Credit: Mondo Magic | Public Domain

April 23, 2016 0 comment