SOLAR IN NIGERIA- A Growing Market

Nigeria benefits from an average distributed solar radiation of 19.8 MJm2/day and 6 hours of sunshine per day. The northern regions, with a savanna climate and even a semi-arid/desert topography in the farthest north, receive even higher solar radiation. In contrast, the southern areas have a mainly tropical climate. The abundance of sunshine, combined with Nigeria’s persistent electricity shortage, has attracted significant interest in solar energy projects within the country.

Nigeria is considered one of the fastest-growing markets for solar energy. The Heinrich Boll Stiftung calculated that the country’s off-grid market for mini-grids and solar home systems is estimated to yield $10 billion annually in revenue and savings of $6 billion for Nigerian homes and businesses. According to the Global Off-Grid Market Report, Nigeria is the 5th largest market in the volume of solar products sold. Sales for off-grid solar systems (50 – 100W output) increased by more than double in value from $23 million in 2018 to $63 million in 2019. Adding related products, the total import value is closer to $150m.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) disclosed that Nigeria only posted approximately 28 MW of cumulative installed capacity in 2019. However, this is up from 15MW in 2012 and 19MW in 2018. This bolsters the belief that solar energy will now break through in Nigeria. The Renewable Energy Master plan targets 500 MW installed capacity for solar PV in 2025, and the Nigerian government aims to generate 30% of total energy from renewable sources by 2030. The assumed potential for concentrated solar power and photovoltaic generation is around 427,000 MW.