Nigeria's Solar Energy Surge: Over 5 Million Off-Grid Connections

Erratic electricity from Nigeria's national grid is prompting a significant shift towards solar energy for homes and businesses. At a recent launch of new solar products in Lagos, Dayo Olowoniyi, the technical lead for Mission 300 in Nigeria, announced that over five million off-grid electricity connections were made between 2025 and now.

This initiative, a collaboration between the African Development Bank and the World Bank, aims to provide electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. The Nigerian government supports this transition through the DARES program, which offers capital subsidies to companies like Sun King, easing costs for consumers.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced a framework allowing individuals to sell surplus solar energy back to distribution companies. The growing interest in solar solutions is driven by rising costs of diesel and petrol, with many businesses and institutions, including banks and universities, adopting solar to reduce reliance on generators.

In 2025, Nigeria imported approximately 2.9 million solar panels from China, valued at over N435 billion.