UK Adds £10m To Nigeria’s Clean Energy Financing

The United Kingdom on Monday injected additional £10 million (about N6 billion) into the funding of off-grid low-carbon energy projects aimed at reducing carbon emission and improving access to cleaner energy in the country.

The UK’s Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, announced the donation of the amount at a formal ceremony at the residence of the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria to Nigeria’s Minister of State for Power, Mr. Jeddy Agba, in Abuja.

The amount, according to Ford, will also help to scale up solar-mini-grid and home systems, clean cooking infrastructure and cold storage infrastructure in Nigeria.

The UK minister, who is visiting Nigeria for the first time, said that UK was keen to improve energy access in Nigeria and help the country to keep up her COP26 commitments.

“The UK is committed to increasing both renewable energy and energy access in Nigeria, driving clean, sustainable and resilient growth,” Ford said.

“As the world looks to clean growth, we are witnessing an era-defining opportunity for the private sector. This transition is particularly exciting as it brings together UK government support with the institutional capital, which is essential to grow the sector at scale,” the minister added.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Power, Jeddy Agba, who received the money on behalf of his country, thanked the UK government for its active support towards Nigeria’s effort in achieving its carbon neutrality target in 2060.

Mr. Agba disclosed that Nigeria is currently implementing its clean energy transition scheme with a number of projects in Lagos, Borno and Kano states and has gone ahead to develop investor-grade data for project development and a $550 million facility from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, thus emerging with the largest clean energy access programme across the continent of Africa.