London, July 9th (The Net-Zero Circle) - The Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) signed agreements with five private developers on July 4th to expand electricity access across the nation. The developers - A4&T Power Solutions, Eauxwell Nigeria Limited, Skipper Nigeria Limited, Havenhill Synergy Limited, and Privida Power - will develop decentralised renewable energy projects totalling 1,265 MW.
The agreements are part of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, managed by REA. DARES focuses on expanding decentralised renewable energy access and electricity services for households and small to medium-sized companies.
The projects will see the creation of interconnected mini-grids, with isolated mini-grids for commercial and industrial users, and streamline efficiency in energy (PUE) initiatives. The outcome will see the provision of much needed stable electricity supplies to peri-urban and rural communities in both low-grid and off-grid areas.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria faces the world's largest absolute electricity access deficit, with 45% of the population (90 million people) lacking grid access. For context, this represents 12% of the global electricity access deficit. Nigeria further suffers significant disparities between urban areas (84% access) and rural areas (26% access), which stifles economic growth in the African nation.
