Nigeria has announced an ambitious renewable energy initiative aimed at bringing electricity to millions of citizens who currently live without reliable power. The programme, being implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) Project, plans to deploy 1,350 mini solar grids and more than one million solar home systems across underserved communities.
The project is backed by about $750 million in financing from the World Bank and development partners, to power 17.5 million Nigerians in rural areas, support small businesses and essential services such as clinics and schools. Officials say the initiative could replace up to 280,000 petrol and diesel generators, reduce pollution, and create new green energy jobs. Supporters describe the plan as a practical solution for a country where millions remain outside the national electricity network. However, reactions across the country have been sharply divided.
A Country Struggling with a Fragile Grid
Nigeria’s national electricity system, managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has suffered repeated nationwide collapses in recent years. In February 2026 alone, the national grid reportedly collapsed twice in four days, leaving large parts of the country without electricity for hours.
These repeated failures have reinforced public frustration over the reliability of Nigeria’s centralised power infrastructure. While the solar initiative seeks to bypass the fragile grid through decentralized electricity systems, critics argue that fixing the national grid should remain a priority.
With a population estimated at about 223 million people, some analysts question whether powering 17.5 million citizens through off-grid solutions is sufficient to solve Nigeria’s deeper electricity crisis.
234 kW solar system powers a mini grid backed by lithium batteries and diesel in Shimankar, Nigeria. Credit: Rural Electrification Agency Nigeria.
Another Avenue for Public Funds to Disappear?
I have strong reservations about this project. The announcement of large public spending programmes often raises concerns in a country where corruption has historically undermined development projects. I argue that:
- Large infrastructure programmes can sometimes become avenues for the embezzlement of public funds.
- There are fears that resources might be diverted toward political activities, especially as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.
- At a time when citizens struggle with inflation, unemployment and insecurity, does this project reflect Nigeria’s most urgent needs?
The country must be cautious to ensure that renewable energy programmes are implemented transparently and truly benefit ordinary Nigerians rather than political interests.
Solar Energy Still Holds Huge Potential for Nigeria
Despite criticism, energy experts widely agree that Nigeria has enormous solar potential due to its geographic location near the equator.
Studies show that many parts of the country receive between 5–7 kWh/m² of solar radiation daily, making solar energy one of the most promising solutions for electricity generation. If properly implemented, solar energy could play a major role in solving Nigeria’s power deficit.
1) Scaling solar energy nationwide
Why solar is central in Nigeria
Solar is the easiest renewable source to scale quickly in Nigeria because it can work at three levels at once: household systems, community mini-grids, and utility-scale plants. Reviews on Nigeria’s energy system consistently identify solar as one of the country’s most practical responses to unreliable grid power, low rural electrification, and generator dependence. Shaaban and Petinrin’s review notes that Nigeria has strong solar irradiation, estimated around 3.5–7.0 kWh/m²/day, while Oyedepo argues that diversification toward renewables is necessary if Nigeria is to escape repeated power shortages and support sustainable development.
a. National solar manufacturing policy
A national manufacturing policy means moving beyond importing finished panels and batteries, and instead building local capability in module assembly, inverter production, mounting structures, cabling, battery-pack assembly, testing labs, and technician training. The main reason is not only industrialization; it is also cost control, supply-chain reliability, job creation, and easier maintenance.
Akinyele, Rayudu and Nair argue that PV deployment in Nigeria should not be treated as only an import-and-install exercise; system design, local climatic conditions, maintenance arrangements, and socio-technical realities matter for long-term performance. Their 2015 work also shows that remote PV systems become more viable when the full system ecosystem is considered, not just the panel price. Separately, Akinyele, Rayudu and Nair’s broader review of photovoltaic technology discusses the importance of local manufacturing capacity, module performance evaluation, and technology adaptation in Nigeria’s conditions.
How to do it in practice
- Remove import duties on manufacturing equipment rather than on finished products alone.
- Offer tax holidays and concessional finance for firms assembling modules, batteries, and inverters locally.
- Set minimum local-content rules gradually, not abruptly, so quality does not collapse.
- Create national PV testing and certification labs to prevent the market from being flooded with substandard equipment.
- Link industrial policy to universities, polytechnics, and technical colleges for workforce development.
This kind of industrial strategy is consistent with broader transition planning in Nigeria, where official energy-transition documents foresee very large long-term growth in solar PV and battery storage.
b. Solar rooftop programmes
Rooftop solar is one of the fastest ways to reduce pressure on the grid, especially for public buildings with predictable daytime loads such as schools, hospitals, ministries, and local government offices. Instead of waiting for a full national grid overhaul, rooftop systems can provide direct supply where energy is most socially valuable.
Oyedepo’s 2012 review supports this logic indirectly by stressing that Nigeria needs energy-policy interventions that reduce wastage, diversify sources, and improve social welfare. Akinyele and Rayudu’s distributed PV work is even more direct: they show that off-grid and distributed photovoltaic systems are particularly relevant for energy-poor households and underserved communities where grid extension is slow or unreliable.
How to do it in practice
- Start with federal and state hospitals, schools, universities, water facilities, and administrative buildings.
- Bundle procurement at scale so government buys quality systems at lower cost.
- Require battery backup for critical loads only, such as operating theatres, vaccine refrigeration, laboratories, data rooms, and security lighting.
- Use energy audits first, so buildings install right-sized systems rather than oversized political showcase projects.
- Include maintenance contracts of at least 5–10 years; many public-sector energy projects fail not at installation, but during maintenance.
This approach also aligns with the Rural Electrification Agency’s broader off-grid strategy and with Nigeria’s current transition direction toward decentralized renewable supply.
c. Community solar farms and mini-grids
This is often the strongest model for rural Nigeria. A community mini-grid spreads cost across many users, can power homes and productive activity, and is easier to regulate and maintain than millions of isolated systems. It is especially useful for farming communities, markets, fishing settlements, health centres, and rural commercial clusters.
Akinyele and Rayudu’s 2013 paper make the case that distributed PV is suitable for energy-poor communities and can improve welfare where centralized supply is absent or unstable. Their later 2015 Applied Energy paper develops a PV power plant for a remote mini-estate and explicitly addresses the socio-technical and economic dimensions of remote electrification. Current programme documents for Nigeria’s DARES project also show that mini-grids are a central delivery channel for scaling access, with solar-hybrid systems and battery storage built into the design logic.
How to do it in practice
- Identify communities with concentrated demand rather than scattered low-load settlements.
- Build mini-grids around “anchor loads” such as telecom towers, agro-processing centres, cold rooms, schools, or clinics.
- Use community cooperatives or local energy committees for payment discipline and dispute resolution.
- Pair electricity rollout with productive uses: milling, irrigation, refrigeration, welding, tailoring, and digital services.
- Standardize tariff regulation and interconnection rules so developers know how projects will be treated if the main grid eventually arrives.
The academic literature and recent implementation experience both suggest that mini-grids work best when they are not treated as charity projects, but as viable local infrastructure with clear revenue and governance structures.
d. Private sector participation
Nigeria will struggle to finance universal electrification from the public budget alone. Private capital is needed for project development, equipment supply, operations, customer service, and innovation in payment systems.
Shaaban and Petinrin discuss the need for policies that incentivize wider renewable-energy use in rural Nigeria. Recent World Bank and REA documentation on Nigeria’s electrification programmes shows that grant-backed structures are already being used to crowd in private developers for mini-grids and solar home systems. The World Bank notes that Nigeria’s previous electrification efforts helped establish mini-grids, sell over a million solar home systems, and create local green jobs, while the newer DARES programme is designed explicitly to scale this model further.
How to do it in practice
- Use results-based financing so firms are paid partly for verified connections and service quality.
- Offer foreign-exchange risk mitigation, since developers often import components.
- Simplify licensing and permit approval for small and medium projects.
- Support pay-as-you-go and mobile-money models for low-income users.
- Encourage local banks to lend through credit guarantees and blended finance.
The key point from both scholarship and implementation practice is that private participation works only when regulation is stable, tariffs are credible, and contracts are enforceable.
e. Energy storage investment
Battery storage matters because solar production peaks in the day, while many household and commercial loads rise in the evening. Storage also improves reliability, reduces diesel backup, stabilizes mini-grids, and makes rooftop and village systems more useful.
The most directly relevant storage paper here is Akinyele and Rayudu (2014), “Review of Energy Storage Technologies for Sustainable Power Networks.” While not Nigeria-specific in its full scope, it is highly relevant to the technical problem: it compares storage technologies and explains why batteries and other storage systems are essential for renewable-heavy power systems. Nigeria’s official Energy Transition Plan also projects very large growth in battery storage as renewable penetration rises.
How to do it in practice
- Use lithium-ion batteries initially because they are mature and widely commercialized.
- Reserve more advanced storage chemistries for pilot projects until local maintenance capacity improves.
- Standardize battery recycling and end-of-life rules from the start.
- Require remote monitoring systems for public projects to detect failure early.
- Prioritize storage where service value is highest: clinics, telecom, water supply, and productive-use mini-grids.
In other words, solar without storage can help, but solar plus storage is much closer to real electricity service.
2) Expanding other renewable energy sources
Solar should lead, but Nigeria should not depend on a single renewable source. A resilient energy system mixes variable renewables like solar and wind with dispatchable or semi-dispatchable sources like hydropower, biomass, and storage.
a. Hydropower expansion
Hydropower is already one of Nigeria’s best-known renewable resources, but the strongest near-term opportunity is often small hydropower, especially for isolated or weak-grid regions. Shaaban and Petinrin report large hydropower potential around 10,000 MW and small hydropower potential around 734 MW. Ohunakin and colleagues’ review of small hydropower in Nigeria argues that only a small fraction of SHP potential has been tapped and that policy and project development have lagged resource availability.
How to do it in practice
- Rehabilitate existing dams and hydro facilities before building entirely new megaprojects.
- Prioritize small hydro in rural river basins where civil works can be modest.
- Combine small hydro with solar mini-grids to improve seasonal balance.
- Carry out proper hydrological mapping and environmental impact assessment.
- Build local turbine-repair and control-system expertise, not only import turnkey plants.
Hydropower’s main value is that it can provide more stable output than solar alone, though drought risk, ecological disruption, and high upfront civil costs must be managed carefully.
b. Wind energy development
Wind is more location-specific than solar in Nigeria, so the correct first step is not “build turbines everywhere,” but “map the wind resource properly and target the best corridors.” Fadare’s 2010 paper on mapping wind-speed profiles for energy applications in Nigeria and supported by Adaramola and Oyewola 2011. Adaramola emphasises that wind power output depends heavily on accurate wind data and that investment decisions require proper site-specific information.
How to do it in practice
- Install modern wind-measurement masts in priority northern and coastal areas.
- Use at least 12–24 months of local data before project approval.
- Focus first on medium-scale wind in the best corridors, rather than symbolic nationwide rollout.
- Pair wind with solar and batteries in hybrid systems to reduce variability.
- Use wind initially for both electricity and water-pumping applications in suitable zones.
Wind will likely play a supporting role rather than the dominant one, but in selected sites it can meaningfully diversify Nigeria’s power mix.
c. Biomass and waste-to-energy
Biomass is important in Nigeria because the country has major agricultural residues, animal waste, forestry residues, and growing urban waste streams. The challenge is that traditional biomass use often means inefficient fuelwood burning, which harms health and forests. Modern biomass policy should instead focus on biogas, biomass pellets, cogeneration, and municipal waste-to-energy.
Recent reviews of biomass utilization in Nigeria conclude that the country has significant biomass resources, but progress has been slowed by technology, financing, feedstock logistics, and policy barriers. The 2022 review by Okafor et al. and the 2023 review by Adeleke et al. both stress that Nigeria has underused biomass potential and that better collection, conversion technologies, and policy support are needed. A 2024 paper on enabling modern bioenergy deployment in Nigeria similarly argues that awareness and implementation of modern biomass applications remain limited despite policy support.
How to do it in practice
- Build anaerobic digesters for livestock waste, food-processing waste, and municipal organic waste.
- Support agro-industrial cogeneration using rice husk, bagasse, cassava peels, and sawmill residues.
- Introduce source separation in cities so waste-to-energy plants receive cleaner feedstock.
- Create biomass collection markets so residues are not left dispersed or burned openly.
- Avoid overclaiming waste-to-energy potential where basic waste management is still weak.
Biomass can help most where there are a steady feedstock stream and an institutional user nearby, such as agro-processing clusters, universities, hospitals, or industrial estates.
Final Thoughts
Nigeria’s new solar programme could become a transformative step toward solving the country’s electricity crisis. But history has shown that large projects alone do not guarantee results. For the initiative to succeed, Nigerians expect transparency in funding, clear implementation timelines, accountability from government agencies and a parallel effort to repair the national grid. Without these, even well-intentioned projects risk becoming another headline without lasting impact. And for millions of Nigerians who still rely on noisy generators every night, the question remains simple: Will this finally deliver reliable electricity, or become another promise lost in politics?
