A project in Nigeria to replace fossil fuel generators with solar-powered alternatives to meet the energy needs of weak grid or off-grid Nigerian SMEs emerged one of the two winners for the ZE-Gen Demonstrator – a £2 million funding competition to show the capability, applicability, and scalability of integrated renewable alternatives to fossil-fuelled generators.
This emerged on Wednesday, March 13, at the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) Forum 2024 in Kigali, where funding for innovative interventions to replace fossil fuel-powered generators with renewable energy-based alternatives in Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands was announced as part of the Zero-Emission Generators (ZE-Gen) initiative.
This included a £250,000 investment by ZE-Gen to the Green Genset Facility, which will make it simpler and more transparent for distributors to buy solar-powered generators in Africa.
An expandable, solar generator for Nigerian businesses from off-grid renewable developer BioLite was chosen as one of the projects to receive the ZE-Gen Demonstrator funding. Building on BioLite’s deep technical expertise in solar generators the company will develop EverPower, an expandable, zero-emissions solar generator, to replace fossil fuel generators to meet the energy needs of weak grid or off-grid Nigerian SMEs.
The other winner is a project in Côte d’Ivoire and Fiji for wind-generator technologies to charge approximately 400 e-mobility batteries a day for electric motorbikes, scooters, small boat outboards and drones.
Led by British e-mobility charge-point developer Aegis Energy, the Zephattan project will showcase the readiness for wind powered generators to meet remote and off-grid African and Pacific Island Country electricity needs.
With the potential to save around 500-tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions in six-months of field testing, the project is a collaboration with Abidjan-based local gender and social inclusion programming specialist and community-wind entrepreneur KOC Bridges to Peace, and Suva-based renewables development finance specialist Leaf Capital.
ZE-Gen announced at the event its collaboration with the Green Genset Facility (GGF), a spin-off from the Access to Energy Institute. ZE-Gen’s investment of £250,000 into the GGF is said to align with its commitment to supporting sustainable energy initiatives that will replace fossil-fuelled generators. This contribution underscores ZE-Gen’s ongoing efforts to promote innovation in renewable energy alongside existing funders BGFA, DOEN Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, IKEA Foundation, NEFCO and Sida.
The GGF aims to make it simple and transparent for distributors to buy solar-powered generators, accelerating a move away from fossil fuel alternatives. The facility, supported by Open Capital Advisors, will address the lack of accessible and affordable working capital — seen as the biggest obstacle that distributors face in procuring solar generators from suppliers.
Through digital tracking of repayment and usage patterns, the facility will make it easier to buy stock to serve customers and grow distributors’ businesses, with the aim of improving livelihoods and reducing emissions and pollution in Africa. In a market due to exceed $20 billion in Nigeria alone, the facility will focus on unlocking the market for solar powered generators with the aim of raising $100 million in funding.
Dr James Coombs Obrien, Innovation Lead – Energy at Innovate UK, said: “We are delighted to announce these interventions at the Transforming Energy Access Forum, as part of ZE-Gen’s holistic approach to displacing fossil-fuelled generators.
“The Green Genset Facility and the winners of the ZE-Gen Demonstrator will drive forward the renewable energy-based generator landscape in Africa, South-Asia and the Pacific Islands, tackling the barriers to meet the growing market – and need – for renewable-based solutions. This supports ZE-Gen’s mission to enable the replacement of millions of polluting and expensive fossil-fuelled generators by accelerating the transition to renewable energy-based alternatives.”
