World Banks says it will fund 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria

Robert Besser
08 Aug 2023, 10:29 GMT+10

The World Bank's Ajay Banga said the bank will help fund the construction of 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria
Nigeria has installed power generation capacity of 12,500 MW, but produces a fraction of total capacity, meaning that millions of households and businesses are reliant upon petrol and diesel generators
Made up of small-scale electricity generating units, mini grids range in a size from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW, which could power some 200 homes

PARIS, France: The World Bank's Ajay Banga said the bank will help fund the construction of 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria, in partnership with the Nigerian government and private sector.

Nigeria, which has Africa's largest economy and a population of more than 200 million people, has installed power generation capacity of 12,500 megawatts (MW), but produces a fraction of total capacity, meaning that millions of households and businesses are reliant upon petrol and diesel generators.

Made up of small-scale electricity generating units, mini grids range in a size from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW, which could power some 200 homes.

Some 150 mini grids have already been built, partly funded by the World Bank, which will bring power to communities without access to electricity, said Banga, while visiting a mini grid site on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja.

"We are putting another 300 in, but our ambition with the government is to go all the way to 1,000. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are being invested," Banga said, according to Reuters.

"Now the idea is not for the World Bank to be the only person putting the money. We put part of the money, like a subsidy," he added.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 568 million people lack access to electricity, while globally, nearly 80 percent of people without electricity live in Africa, according to World Bank data.