The World Bank, in collaboration with the Nigerian government and private sector, is set to support the establishment of 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. As stated by Jay Bamba, World Bank president,
Despite having an installed power generation capacity of 12,500 MW, Nigeria’s actual power production is much lower, leaving a significant number of households and businesses dependent on petrol and diesel generators, given its population of over 200 million people.
Mini grids, made up of small-scale electricity-generating units, typically range in size from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW, enough to power some 200 households.
Speaking during a visit to a mini-grid site on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, Banga told reporters that nearly 150 mini-grids had been built, partly funded by the World Bank, to bring power to communities without access to electricity.
“We are putting another 300 in, but our ambition with the government is to go all the way to 1,000. We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are being invested,” said Banga.
“The concept is not for the World Bank to solely fund the project. Instead, we provide a portion of the funds as a subsidy.”
According to World Bank data, over 568 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa are without access to electricity. Remarkably, almost 80% of the global population lacking electricity resides in Africa.
