The Federal Government of Nigeria has received approval for a $750 million funding from the World Bank to construct 1,200 mini-grids in rural communities across the country.
This initiative, known as the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, aims to provide energy access to millions of Nigerians living in rural areas without electricity.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, made this announcement on Tuesday at the Alliance for Rural Electrification Energy Access Forum in Lagos.
According to Aliyu, President Bola Tinubu has approved the fund, which will be used as a capital subsidy to incentivise the private sector to electrify a significant portion of the unelectrified population in Nigeria.
The project is expected to provide electricity access to about 19 million of the 85 million Nigerians currently without access to energy. This effort is part of the government's strategy to bridge the significant electricity gap in Nigeria, which is the highest in the world.
The funding will be utilised to provide three million Nigerians with electricity access through isolated mini-grids, 1.5 million through interconnected mini-grids, and 15.5 million through solar system mesh-grids.
Additionally, the project aims to provide over 40,000 farmers with productive use of equipment to enhance their productivity.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, emphasized the importance of off-grid technology in accelerating access to energy, particularly in rural areas. He noted that the ministry is shifting its focus towards commercially viable mini-grid investments to ensure sustainability and scalability.
