The federal government yesterday commenced the construction of 1.6mwp solar mini-grids to serve four suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, after a prolonged blackout spanning over 10 years.
The standalone mini-grids which are being executed by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Korean Energy Project (KEP) will supply power to four communities in Kuje, Abuja and one in Nasarawa.
They include: Rubochi, Ikwa, Gada Biyu and Kugbaru. Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of the REA, Mr Salihijo Ahmad, lamented that rural communities suffer profound health and economic impacts as a result of the wide use of non-renewable or polluting energy sources.
He recalled that for this reason, in June 2022, Nigeria officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) to develop the four mini-grids within the FCT.
According to him, these include the Rubochi interconnected mini-grid which will have a total capacity of 900kWp, divided into three sessions. In addition, he stated that the construction of 100kWp is ongoing at Ikwa community of Gwagwalada, while the remaining two would be delivered before December 2024.
At the ground-breaking ceremony, Ahmad stated that upon full delivery of the projects, the intervention would have delivered a total renewable energy capacity of 1.6 MWp and 3.0 MWhr system across the four main communities in the FCT.
Also speaking, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Renewable Energy and Rural Electrification Access, Samuel Ayangeor, stated that Nigeria has a unique history that has taken it through varying phases of the journey toward the desirable change it strives to see in the energy sector.
