The rural village based in Ogun State in Nigeria has partnered up with Nayo Tropical Technologies, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to install Nigerias first commercial under grid mini-grid project
The solar hybrid project has the potential to provide reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity to hundreds of under grid Nigerian communities.
Speaking at Enlit’s Africa virtual event, James Sherwood, principal, RMI Africa Energy Programme, said, “It is an exciting project as it is the first of its kind, where a utility and developer were working together to come up with a tripartite solution, in a rural community like Mokoloki, and we feel that this is a really scalable model.”
David Riposo, energy access officer at USAID, commented, “The impact that this project had in facilitating business creation and creating the conditions of economic opportunity; a health clinic, bakery, metal workshop and several other businesses were able to stand up, as a consequence to access to reliable energy, is very validating to see, because we have invested in these spaces since 2013. Similarly, I was compelled by the way new businesses seem to be attracted to the village as a consequence of access to reliable power. It really speaks to the ability of reliable power access serving as an engine of economic growth.”
Albert Butare, CEO of Africa Energy Services Group, added, “This struck me as an innovative idea and the courage of the developer to approach the big grid operator, for this kind of partnership and both, convert their thinking and come back up with this synergy has been successful. Likewise to see the trust and readiness of the grid operator to allow the developer and the undergrid mini-grid, to use his network, cooperating rather than competing is not usual, and thirdly, I was impressed by the commitment of the grid operator to ensure communities were saved.”
