The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), launched by the Bezos Earth Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation, is initiating a solar mini-grid program in Nigeria aimed at tackling unreliable electricity and boosting productivity.
Established in 2021, GEAPP is implementing the Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology (DART) program, which aims to lower solar equipment costs by consolidating developers’ needs. The initiative also features a $25 million financing facility for equipment imports, repayable in naira. According to Muhammad Wakil, GEAPP’s country delivery lead, this pooling arrangement can save developers up to 30%.
The project’s first site, a one-megawatt solar mini-grid constructed by Nigerian firm Darway Coast in Ogun State, is expected to provide 24-hour electricity to the local community by year-end, replacing the current eight-hour supply from Ikeja Electric Plc. This mini-grid is part of a broader plan to deploy similar projects nationwide, targeting the establishment of 10 gigawatts of mini-grids to combat energy poverty.
The program has garnered international support, with the World Bank committing $130 million for similar facilities. GEAPP’s initiatives aim to complement Nigeria’s existing energy infrastructure, working alongside the national grid to ensure consistent power supply to businesses and homes. Wakil stressed that thousands of such projects are essential to eliminate energy poverty across the country.
Ikeja Electric’s Power Purchase Manager, Fatima Haliru, highlighted the importance of viewing mini-grid developers as partners rather than competitors, in line with Nigeria’s Electricity Act provisions.