World Bank to fund $750m clean energy projects in Nigeria
The International Development Association has announced that the World Bank’s fund for poor countries plans to provide a credit of $750 million for clean energy projects in Nigeria to increase electricity in Africa’s most populous nation.
Until now, more than 85 million people lacked access to electricity in Nigeria as of 2021, with households and businesses reliant on expensive diesel and petrol generators, the bank explained.
The International Development Association loan will be used to fund the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, which will provide accessibility to new or enhanced energy supply to more than 17.5 million Nigerians.
“To further address the access gap, DARES will build on the achievements of the World Bank-financed Nigeria Electrification Project, which has supported the establishment of 125 mini grids and the sale of over a million Solar Home Systems, through which more than 5.5 million Nigerians have gained access to electricity,” the World Bank said.
According to USAID Powerafrica, Nigeria is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, but limitations in the power sector constrain growth.
The West African nation is endowed with large oil, gas, hydro, and solar resources, and it has the potential to generate 12,522 MW of electric power from existing plants. On most days, however, it is only able to dispatch around 4,000 MW, which is insufficient for a country of over 195 million people.
