The Nigerian government, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), is set to roll out a $750 million rural electrification project next month, which is financed by the World Bank. The project aims to provide electricity to 17.5 million Nigerians through renewable energy sources, marking one of the largest electrification efforts of its kind globally.
The Managing Director of REA, Engr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, shared details about the initiative, highlighting its ambitious scope: “There’s a new project that we are starting next month called the Distributed Renewable Energy Scale-up Project, which is a $750 million project financed by the World Bank. The target of that project is to electrify 17.5 million Nigerians, and I must say that this is one of the most ambitious projects in the world based on my understanding.” He further added, “Apart from India, which has moved many unelectrified people to have electricity access, there’s no other country that has an ambitious project like this.”
The Distributed Renewable Energy Scale-Up Project will focus on providing power through isolated mini-grids, interconnected mini-grids, and stand-alone solar systems. Aliyu explained that the project is structured to deliver electricity to 3 million people via isolated mini-grids, 1.5 million people through interconnected mini-grids, while the rest will benefit from matched grid systems and stand-alone solar installations.
According to Engr. Aliyu, this project is estimated to last for five years, building on previous successes in electrification, such as a $550 million project funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB). “The previous projects have proven that we can achieve large-scale electrification using renewable energy, and this new project is the next major step forward,” he said.
The REA initiative is part of a broader plan to tackle Nigeria’s energy crisis, with nearly 90 million people in the country still lacking access to electricity. Aliyu emphasized the importance of this effort: “This project is essential for ensuring that underserved and rural communities in Nigeria have access to reliable, affordable energy.”
In December 2023, the World Bank approved the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, which will attract over $1 billion in private capital and additional financing from international development partners, including JICA, USAID, GIZ, and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. This collaborative approach is expected to significantly improve access to electricity for millions of Nigerians in the coming years.
