Leading provider of solar homes systems and mini-grid solutions, ENGIE Energy Access, has inaugurated its hybrid 90kW mini-grid in Nigeria. Through this mini-grid, ENGIE will connect the people of Gbangba community in Nigeria to electric power supply, for the first time ever.
This initiative will empower over 300 customers, which includes households, and micro and small enterprises. The solar mini-grid will directly impact over 1,500 people by providing them with affordable, reliable and clean electricity.
Speaking at the launch, Bankole Cardoso, Managing Director of ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria, said, "Nigeria's electricity challenge remains a huge gap that needs to be filled in the country's journey to fulfill its full potential as a nation. The power challenge in Nigeria requires the support of the private sector, and the construction of the Gbangba mini-grid demonstrates how private investment can help address the infrastructure gap in the energy industry. This mini-grid will foster socio-economic development and prosperity in the Gbangba community, its people and its neighbors. It will serve both private households and commercial businesses."
The CEO of ENGIE Energy Access Gillian-Alexandre Huart added that this mini-grid is not only a win for Gbanga community but a win for Nigeria at large, as it demonstrates ENGIE Energy Access's strong commitment to meeting the growing decentralized energy needs with an ambition to build over 100 mini-grids throughout the country.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's lowest energy access rate, with more than half of its people not connected to electricity. In Nigeria, about 43.5% of people live without access to energy. This presents an opportunity to employ grand-scale innovation and the intervention of renewable energy solutions within the electricity sector in Nigeria.