Daystar Power to light up Nigeria’s Agric bank branches

The Bank of Agriculture has signed agreement with Daystar Power, a pan-African electricity company specializing in the generation of solar energy, to light up its 158 branches in Nigeria with solar energy. The company has also entered a comprehensive cooperation for rural electrification in Nigeria, it said in a release sent to BusinessDay.

Daystar Power will partner Sunray Ventures, a Venture Builder with locations in Frankfurt, Dubai and Lagos, which was founded to identify economically attractive and high impact opportunities that address core growth sectors with a focus on renewable energy and circular economy in Africa and the Middle East, to develop the project including solar projects in rural communities in Nigeria.

Established in 1972, the bank of agriculture a state-owned bank created to lend support relevant activities in the agricultural production chain, will see all its branches in the country switch to renewables. This follows the growing realisation that solar energy can help firms reduce energy cost which the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria say represents 40 percent of business cost. Sterling Bank is also powering some of its branches in the country with solar power.

“In Nigeria there is a large gap between electricity production and demand. The rural population in particular suffers from a lack of reliable electricity supply, which has a negative impact on agricultural productivity. By supplying Nigeria’s population with clean solar power, Daystar Power enables increased productivity and higher crop yields through better cooling. In this way we contribute to increasing prosperity for the local population,” Christian Wessels, Managing Director of Sunray Ventures said.

The cooperation agreement was signed in the presence of the Regina Hess deputy ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nigeria, and Ulrich Rieger, senior ministerial Council of the Internationalization Department of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology.

“The recently agreed cooperation offers a great perspective for Nigeria and is a forward-looking signal for further projects of this kind. We very much welcome projects of private-sector cooperation to promote African development,” said Hess.

In remarks made the signing ceremony, Rieger said, “”The secure supply of electricity is central to Nigeria’s sustainable development. That is why we particularly support cooperation between Bavarian companies that are active in Africa and thus make a contribution to economic, social and ecological development”.

Meanwhile Kabir Mohammed Adamu, the managing director and CEO of the Bank of Agriculture said the Nigerian government has set itself a target of 30% of renewable energies in the national energy mix by installing new solar plants with a capacity of 30 GW by 2030. “Our cooperation with Daystar Power will help us achieve this goal,” Adamu said.