The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, (GEAPP), a global climate organization, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund, is piloting a solar mini-grid initiative in Nigeria to address the nation’s unreliable power supply, which hampers productivity.
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, established in 2021 in collaboration with the Ikea Foundation, completed the first interconnected mini-grid in December with two additional grids currently under construction, with funding secured for a fourth.
Operated by private developers, these mini-grids complement the limited electricity from the national grid, ensuring businesses and households stay powered continuously.
GEAPP’s Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology (DART) program consolidates the needs of multiple developers to reduce solar equipment costs. It also manages a $25 million financing facility, enabling developers to secure funding in dollars for equipment imports, with repayment made in Nigeria’s naira once they begin generating revenue.
“You have those kind of under-served communities that do require reliable power to power their homes and their businesses,” said Fauzia Okediji, a utility innovation manager at Geapp, during an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s Wall Street Week.
Muhammad Wakil, the country delivery lead for the New York-based Geapp, during an interview at the project site in Ogun state, “We need hundreds or thousands of this kind of projects across Nigeria to end energy poverty. We have shown it’s a viable business model.”
Nigeria’s power problems
Nigeria has the highest number of people without access to electricity globally, with about 86 million affected, while the rest of its 230 million population experiences limited power.
The national grid provides only 4,000 megawatts—roughly one-sixth of South Africa’s generation capacity, despite South Africa’s population being just a quarter of Nigeria’s. Frequent outages and occasional nationwide grid collapses further compound the country’s power challenges.
In the past week, Nigeria has battled severe power challenges with the National grid collapsing three times in one week as the total shutdown in the year reached nine times.
Solar energy potentials
Nigeria has significant solar energy potential, receiving an average of six hours of sunlight daily. The country’s estimated capacity for concentrated solar power and photovoltaic generation stands at around 427,000 MW.
Earlier this month, the Director-General/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), announced the launch of a new rural electricity project next month, funded by the World Bank with $750 million, aimed at providing electricity to 17.5 million Nigerians.
