Nigeria can build solar power plants, but funding remains elusive

Nigeria has demonstrated that distributed renewable energy can successfully expand electricity access beyond the national grid. Through the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), private developers built 180 solar hybrid mini-grids across 23 states, connecting over 146,000 households and deploying 19.2MW of renewable capacity. However, the fundamental challenge is no longer technical viability—it is securing sustainable, scalable financing.

Despite these advancements, as of 2024, only 62.5% of Nigeria’s population had access to electricity. This leaves over 80 million people unserved, highlighting the…