Husk Power Systems, a solar-hybrid microgrids operator, has raised $749,000 loan from the German development finance institution DEG that it plans to deploy for 8 new community solar microgrids in Nigeria and expand its India operations.
The 8 new Nigerian microgrids will connect over 500 residential and commercial customers while bringing down the use of diesel generators by 400. Here, Husk is already operating 12 microgrids and targets to build a total of 500 by 2026.
Husk says the DEG financing is the 1st debt raised by the company for its Nigerian business. The 5-year loan has been allocated by the DEG from its Up-Scaling Program that's co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). DEG is a subsidiary of Germany's KfW Group.
"Access to affordable debt is critical to scaling solar microgrids in Nigeria, home to 90 million people living without access to electricity," said Co-Founder and CEO of Husk, Manoj Sinha. "This financing provides Husk with a solid foundation for unlocking additional debt, including local currency debt, this year and beyond."
Husk says its microgrids fill a 'major gap' between expensive and polluting energy products as kerosene lanterns and diesel gensets, and expensive solar home systems (SHS). Its technology uses loose rice husks as feedstock for biomass gasification system to produce gas that's used to produce electricity during evening time, hybridized with a solar array that produces electricity during daytime, all connected to batteries that power the system that work during night time, thereby providing 24×7 clean energy to local businesses, households and community services.
The company counts Shell, Engie and Swedfund among its investors. In 2022, it raised $10.3 million debt from IREDA and EDFI-ElectriFI to build over 200 microgrids in India (see India PV News Snippets).