Mini-Grid in the City™ (MGC)
1. Applicant Information
Chibunna
Ogbonna
Co-founder & CEO
KIRU ENERGY LIMITED
28 Oriola Street, Gbagada,
Nigeria
Teammates
Benedict Okpala - Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer
2. Criteria - Applicants Responses
Which clean technology categories does your innovation cover?
Solar Power, Smart Energy, AI, Blockchain & IoT
Please select the category you’re submitting your application for
New Idea, New Solution
Please select the phase of your innovation:
Development
3. Questionnaire - Applicants Responses
Proposal/ Submission Title
Mini-Grid in the City™ (MGC)
Problem Statement
In Nigeria, more than 17 million households and 23 million small and medium enterprises rely on fuel-guzzling and polluting generators to keep their homes and businesses powered with electricity. In Lagos, 40% of the population have no access to grid electricity and about 80% rely heavily on diesel generators to manage outages. Approximately, $1.8 billion is spent on small-scale generators annually. More so, higher operating costs for generators usage and maintenance means higher cost of doing business. Not least, the health and environmental risks posed by air and noise pollution. Another challenge in a city such as Lagos is the rapid urbanization and population growth rate which is outpacing the infrastructure development efforts to meet growing demand for electricity, adequate housing and seamless transportation. This leads to the spread of shanty towns and poorly planned suburbs within the city which affects the efficient distribution of electricity and other resources.
Which do you think are the innovative factors of your idea?
Mini-Grid in the City™ (MGC) by Kiru Energy Limited is a comprehensive solution for powering estates, new towns and off-grid communities with clean, reliable, affordable, and modern energy. Our goal is to provide a sustainable and cost-efficient energy source that will benefit our customers while strengthening urban and rural sustainability. We partner with real estate developers to create sustainable communities by providing solar powered smart mini-grids with IoT metering technology that allows households and businesses to have access to clean and reliable energy. Kiru Energy investors provide up to 60% of the project finance while the Real Estate companies make an initial payment of 40% to install the solar powered smart grid while the balance is spread across a 3 to 6 months period. Kiru Energy operates and maintains the energy network while ensuring stakeholders get returns on investment. This solution is designed to deliver measurable value to the real estate developers.
Which benefits would your idea bring to the industry?
Mini-Grid in the City™ (MGC) by Kiru Energy Limited will benefit the clean-tech industry by increasing the share of total renewable energy consumption in Nigeria and across Africa at scale. In addition, the collaboration with real estate developers to develop communities powered by clean energy will drastically reduce carbon emissions from diesel generators thereby contributing to mitigating climate change. More so, communities powered by clean energy are more resilient to external economic shocks such as oil price hikes, inflation, pandemics and natural disasters thereby strengthening adaptation to climate change and macroeconomic pressures. MGC will imbibe climate-responsible lifestyles in end-users which translates to improved energy efficiency and responsible consumption of energy. In conclusion, MGC will increase the adoption of clean energy technologies in Nigeria and advance the penetration of affordable, clean and modern energy for all.
To which challenges does your idea provide a solution to?
In Nigeria, getting electricity is a hassle even in big cities, not least rural communities. In a city like Lagos, homes and businesses rely heavily on diesel and petrol generators to self-generate energy due to the unreliable supply and frequent collapse of the national grid. About 25% of an individual's monthly budget goes to servicing and fuelling generators. The power blackouts increase economic losses, stress and reliance on unhealthy power alternatives. More so, as oil prices increase and fuel subsidies are removed, it will become more expensive to self-generate electricity with fossil fuel options. MGC eliminates the bottlenecks of unreliable power supply, expensive fossil alternatives and helps households and businesses save more money which can be channeled to investments in education, healthcare, wellness and recreation for improved quality of life.
4. Supporting attachments and links
