By Abdullahi Lukman
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says it has deployed more than 1,000 renewable energy mini-grids across Nigeria as part of efforts to expand electricity access in rural and underserved
communities.
Managing Director of the agency, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this during an interview on Trust TV on Tuesday,noting that the mini-grids are helping to bridge the country’s electricity access gap through a combination of public support and private sector investment.
According to Aliyu, the isolated mini-grids are targeted at communities without access to the national grid, while the agency is also developing 50 interconnected mini-grids to improve electricity supply in areas that remain underserved despite
being connected to the grid.
He explained that the Federal Government is leveraging the $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme to attract greater private sector participation in Nigeria’s clean energy sector.
Rather than relying solely on public borrowing to fund energy projects, the programme is designed to use grant support and result-based financing to mobilise private capital for renewable energy infrastructure.
Aliyu said the initiative is expected to attract an additional $1.1 billion in private investment, bringing total funding for rural electrification projects to nearly $2 billion.
The DARES programme, supported by the World Bank and implemented through the REA, is aimed at accelerating access to reliable and sustainable electricity while encouraging long-term private sector involvement in the energy transition.
The REA boss also highlighted growing local capacity in Nigeria’s solar energy industry, attributing recent progress to government interventions aimed at strengthening domestic renewable energy manufacturing.
According to him, Nigeria’s solar photovoltaic (PV) panel production capacity has increased from about 120 megawatts to between 500 and 600 megawatts, with plans underway to expand manufacturing capacity to 3.7 gigawatts.
He noted that solar panels produced in Nigeria are already being supplied to local projects and exported to other African countries, reflecting the country’s growing role in the continent’s renewable energy value chain.
The expansion of mini-grids and local solar manufacturing is expected to support Nigeria’s clean energy goals, reduce energy poverty and improve access to reliable electricity for millions of households, businesses and public institutions across the country.
