The Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria (REA) says it is targeting to bring electricity to 1.5million Nigerians living in rural areas through solar mini-grids.
The agency also said it has successfully developed a scalable and sustainable energy infrastructure that will benefit 125,000 individuals across Nigeria.
The REA Managing Director, Abubakar Abba Aliyu, said these during the commissioning of a 990-kilowatt solar mini-grid in Lambata community in Gugara Local Government of Niger State on Wednesday.
He said the project is to enable communities that are not connected to the grid or underserved to access electricity that would lead to their economic development and assist more businesses.
He stated that the project which was launched is under the Interconnected Mini-Grid Accelerated Scheme (IMAS), which is funded by the European Union and the Republic of Germany.
He added that under the Distributed Access to Renewable Energy Scale project, the agency planned to deploy 125 interconnected mini-grids, ‘of which already we have started working on deploying 40 of these 125 interconnected mini-grids. And our target is very simple, to use interconnected mini-grid to create reliability for 1.5million Nigerians in the next two years’.
‘For the IMAS project funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German government. A total of £9.3m was provided for this project to create reliable, sustainable electricity for underserved communities.
‘The mini-grid project in Lambata is a prime example of this broader vision in action. Through this initiative, we have successfully developed a scalable and sustainable energy infrastructure that will benefit 125,000 individuals across Nigeria, including right here in Lambata.
‘As you are working to strengthen the national grid, to continue to provide enhanced reliable electricity to band A, B and C, through the REA, we are now working to also create this reliability for customers that are on band D and E. And this is one of the projects that demonstrates this. This project is expected to impact a total of 3,500 livelihoods and households, with expected over 100 productive use of equipment’, the REA boss informed the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who was a special guest.
He added that the federal government is in talks with Japan for a $20 million co-financing power project for the additional deployment of 100 interconnected mini-grids to electrify 1.83 million Nigerians through the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
In his address, the Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, said Nigeria needs to invest more in solar energy to meet its energy needs.
He added that the construction of the Lagos to Calabar Highway and Badagry to Sokoto highway gives another opportunity to invest in wind energy.
‘All the nine coastal states in Nigeria today, after the completion of that project, do not have any excuse not to take advantage of the coastal wind for them to have renewable energy powered by wind.
Similarly, at the commissioning, the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, represented by Commissioner for Power, Bashiru Lokogoma, expressed that ‘Access to electricity is more than just a convenience’.
‘It is the key to unlocking opportunities, improving education, enhancing healthcare, and stimulating the local economy’, he said.
Also, Executive Director REF, Doris Uboh, expressed that ‘the project was a long time coming’.
‘Next is Cross River, and after that, we go to Osun State. In Cross River, we have four communities, and in Osun State, we also have six communities that are already energized through the IMAS project’.
At the commissioning, the Deputy Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Mr Johannes Lehne, stated that many more communities through renewable energies can be electrified.
‘I think this is now proof of the concept that this project works and that we can electrify many more communities through renewable energies, and the German government will employ significant funds to make this happen.
I think for this year, we have commissioned nearly N4 billion to do this, and together with other financers, and we hope that the private sector will now come in, invest, and make this work better’.
