Solar: Affordable Power in Nigeria and Africa: Introduction

Photo by Karsten Würth (@inf1783) on Unsplash

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has the largest economy in the continent. Located in West Africa with a population of about 198m people and immense cultural, natural and human resources. Ingredients of a future world leader.

However, Nigeria’s growth and development is minimal due to the lack of cheap and consistent grid power. About 55% of the population do not have access to electricity especially in the rural areas. 86% of power in these communities is from kerosene, firewood and charcoal.

In the urban region the story is even more bleak. Grid power is infrequent and unreliable, so most urban dwellers settle for petrol and diesel generator sets. These are noisy and pollute the environment.

In this series, I will be exploring:

1. The History of power generation in Nigeria
2. The True cost of Power
3. The Power Value Chain, Reform and Problems
4. ENTER Solar and its Enabling Policies
5. The Solar Market, Mini-Grid Value chain and Business Model
6. Case Study -Pay as You Go Solar Home Systems -Lumos
7. Case Study -Mini-Grid- Green Village Electricity(GVE)
8. Financing and Conclusion

Enjoy !

First up the History of power generation in Nigeria