As the awareness on alternative energy increases in the country, Nigerians are beginning to show strong interest to switch over to better and more effective sources of energy for their homes and businesses.
This may also not be unconnected to the huge benefits these alternative sources of energy offers which include, being cheaper and cleaner energy; environmental friendly, employment, economic growth propeller.
The Rural Electrification Agency in a recent assessment of the Nigeria’s mini-grid market has disclosed that Nigeria is still far from meeting the energy need of her teeming population.
It noted that a significant amount of the economy is powered largely by small-scale generators (10-15GW) and almost 15 per cent of the population has limited or no access to the grid.
According to the report, Nigerians and their businesses spend almost $14 billion annually on inefficient generation that is expensive (0.40/kWh or N140/kWh or more), poor quality, noisy and polluting.
The REA findings from some select communities also revealed that there are high densities of power use, large latent demand, and a strong willingness by the people to switch to more-effective alternatives.
“Some communities indicated both the ability and willingness to contribute to the up-front cost of electricity infrastructure. Many not the on-grid communities are still underserved and are interested in alternative electricity sources.
“There is a huge opportunity for the development of underserved areas and that many of the on-grid communities are still underserved and are interested in alternative sources.
“So, developing off-grid alternatives to complement the grid creates a $9.2B/year market opportunity for minigrids and solar home systems that will save $4.4B/year for Nigerian homes and businesses.
The report further stated that the Government is prioritising the off-grid solution as part of the country’s overall power sector recovery plan.