ALBAWABA – The World Bank (WB) announced an initiative on Saturday to help fund construction of 1,000 mini solar power grids in Nigeria, Reuters reported.
WB President Ajay Banga said the project will be carried out in partnership with the Nigerian government and private sector.
The African country, Nigeria, has a population of more than 200 million people and has installed a power generation capacity of 12,500 megawatts (MW).
However, the country produces a fraction of its grid’s capacity, leaving millions of households and businesses reliant on petrol and diesel generators, according to Reuters.
Mini-grids, made up of small-scale electricity generating units, typically range in capacity from a few kilowatts to up to 10 MW, enough to power some 200 households.
Speaking during a visit to a mini-grid site on the outskirts of the capital Abuja, Banga told reporters that nearly 150 mini-grids had been built, partly funded by the World Bank, to bring power to communities without access to electricity.
"We are putting another 300 in, but our ambition with the government is to go all the way to 1,000. We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are being invested," said Banga. But he did not give a timeline for the completion of the project.
"Now the idea is not for the World Bank to be the only person putting the money. We put part of the money like a subsidy."
World Bank data shows that in sub-Saharan Africa, 568 million people still
