• Nigeria launches $750m solar mini-grid programme to expand rural electricity
• Initiative expected to mobilise $1.1bn in private investment
• 1,350 solar mini-grids planned to power underserved communities

The Nigerian government is set to mobilise $1.1 billion in private investment through a $750 million solar energy programme, Abba Aliyu, Director General of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), announced Friday in Abuja. Aliyu confirmed the initiative on March 6, local media reported, describing it as one of the most ambitious electrification efforts in the country’s history.

The programme centres on the deployment of 1,350 solar-powered mini-grids, including 250 units to be connected to the national grid, aimed at expanding electricity access in underserved rural communities. "This is the first time in the history of the country where a structured programme is being implemented by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the electricity access challenge." Aliyu told local publication Punch.

He said the initiative forms part of a broader national strategy to reduce Nigeria’s long-standing electricity deficit and bring reliable power to populations long left behind by the country’s struggling grid infrastructure.

A Power Sector Under Strain

The programme comes as Nigeria’s power sector faces deep structural challenges. According to World Bank data, 38.8% of the Nigerian population still lacked access to electricity in 2023, one of the highest rates of energy poverty globally.

The sector contends with a range of long-standing structural problems, including an ageing transmission network, chronic gas shortages, mounting debt among power generation and distribution companies, and persistent vandalism of energy infrastructure.

Nigeria's installed generation capacity is estimated at 13,000 megawatts. However, only a fraction of that figure is reliably available at any given time. As a result, a large share of households and businesses remain dependent on diesel-powered generators, a costly and heavily polluting stopgap that continues to highlight the need for reform in the power sector.

Ingrid Haffiny