In Nigeria silence is never absolute. In any corner of the country the incessant purr of a diesel or gasoline electricity generator is within earshot, day and night. Virtually every home or business has one of these colored-lidded cubes that precariously illuminate the cities, towns and villages of Africa's most populous country. They are a necessary evil for Nigerians, explains Olasimbo Sinjrin, national director of the NGO Solar Sister, whose goal is to empower women by supporting them in selling small solar appliances. “We are talking about people who have, hopefully, an hour of electricity a month; middle-class homes without access to the network… 'Just give me energy', they tell the Government”.
This has been the case for decades. Of the 206 million Nigerians, 43% are off the grid, according to the World Bank, and those who do have access face constant blackouts; one of the worst coverage on the continent. For this reason, considering the high exposure to the sun that the country has, for some years the Government has set its sights on photovoltaics to fill the gap in the network, and now the panels that work with this clean resource are relatively common in the country. However, an energy demand that multiplies and prices that are still comparatively high mean that it is still far from being the definitive solution, despite the government's optimism.
A closed mini-grid commissioned by the REA in Shimankar, an isolated community in central Nigeria. Courtesy of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency
The official commitment is to provide 30% of the country's energy with renewable sources by 2030. However, World Bank estimates indicate an increase in demand of 16.8 times the current one due to a population that is projects will reach 400 million by 2050. Considering that, even today, the supply of electricity from the grid barely covers a fraction of the demand, the challenge is twofold: not only must the share of renewables be increased, but also the general production must grow enormously Of electricity.
Taking this into account, the Government has invested in hydroelectric plants, which already supply 18% of the energy, but it is also building macro solar plants; such as Ashama, which when completed, expected in 2023, will be the largest in West Africa with a capacity of 200 megawatts per hour. However, since the network is unable to reach a huge portion of the population, the impact of these projects is mainly limited to urban areas. Therefore, the main proposal of the Nigerian Electrification Program (NEP), the largest initiative of its kind on the continent, is to install single-family panels and small closed networks capable of supplying the most isolated communities.
Of the 206 million Nigerians, 43% are off the power grid, according to the World Bank
For now, according to official data, around 19,000 home systems and 12 mini-grids supplying more than 5,000 homes have been implemented.
Hybrid plants have also been launched to exclusively supply half a dozen universities and university hospitals;
among them is the largest in the continent.
However, this is only the beginning of a program that the Government estimates will benefit some 25 million people in the coming years.
To achieve this, the entity in charge of providing affordable and stable electricity to the Nigeria that still lives in the dark, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA for its acronym in English), has secured 550 million dollars (485 million euros) in loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
However, the agency admits, this is a tiny part of the investment needed to meet the objectives.
Given this, the Executive hopes that the private sector will be the one to carry out most of the mission, driven by tax benefits and other financial mechanisms that public institutions have committed to facilitating.
A family in rural northern Nigeria with a solar lamp in their home.Solar Sister
This is the case of Ayo Ademilua, founder of A4&T Power Solutions, a company that has been dedicated to installing home systems and closed networks since 2014. Since then, it has distributed more than 6,000 single-family systems and nine mini-grids, reaching tens of thousands of beneficiaries. Currently, the business is growing and has numerous new projects in development, including an autonomous network that can be connected to the national grid, the first of its kind in the country.
Ademilua defines his company as a social business: yes, he seeks to generate profits, but he is also committed to providing clean and affordable energy to his compatriots. In fact, much of their job is convincing people that while such a system costs up to ten times more to install initially, it is cheaper in the long run. “We have done a study that concludes that, to operate a gasoline or diesel generator for one hour, 0.53 euros are needed, and that is without adding expenses derived from the risks associated with health, fire, maintenance and emissions, that would raise the price to about one euro. Instead, using one of our panels or mini-grids, it works out at 0.32 cents per hour.” However, in a country where more than 40% of the population lives below the poverty line,these figures remain a fantasy for millions.
The Government expects the private sector to carry out most of the electrification
The Olasimbo Sinjrin NGO, Solar Sister, works with these people in mind.
They have been present in Nigeria for seven years, providing entrepreneurship workshops to women from rural or disadvantaged communities, and helping them set up their own businesses selling small solar appliances.
From flashlights and mobile batteries to clean stoves and single-family photovoltaic systems, the organization tackles energy poverty and gender inequality.
"We defend that, despite the size of our products, they are very significant for a large portion of the population: a solar lamp in a home that has never had electricity allows people to produce or study until later and also reduces the exposure to fumes from kerosene stoves or lanterns, which are the cause of many deaths in the country”, explains Sinjrin. With their model, they have so far built a network of more than two thousand women and, thanks to them, they have reached more than 800,000 with their products; But as more people are reached, the challenges are more difficult, because the demand for electricity also grows.
The same thing has happened to Ayo Ademilua on numerous occasions. "When we set up a system with a capacity determined by the consumption and demand of a community, we have realized that immediately people buy more appliances and, therefore, the energy provided falls short." For Sinjrin, this dynamic shows that, unfortunately, for the population what really matters is having constant access to electricity; and that, without much more powerful public investment or far-reaching financing schemes, it will be inevitable that the noisy generators will turn back on. "People hate them, but they will continue to use them as long as they feel they have no other choice."
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