Further analysis shows that solar-powered street lights were provided for 170 farms while 3,000 farmers were trained on pump maintenance and new irrigation practices, and energy saving which could cut the savings on water by N150,000 to N300,000.

The other aspect of rural electricity access being leveraged on is the Solar Home System (SHS) technology. In 2022 alone, REA deployed 2,046 SHS across the six geopolitical zones; these energised 1,972 houses, five primary healthcare centres, 10 schools, 22 religious centres and seven offices. The overall impact is that 10,000 lives and 5,000 students are benefitting from this and the project created over 350 direct and indirect jobs.

The Managing Director and CEO of REA, Engr Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, said energy is central to socioeconomic growth and that REA is continuously making data-driven decisions targeted at deploying sustainable solutions to energy access problems.

He said, “Beyond keeping the lights on, we are deploying off-grid solutions to catalyse productive use and strengthen social and economic systems in off-grid communities. Adopting a programmatic approach in the delivery of capital projects is one of such deliberate interventions and we already see how this approach ties into the federal government’s national development objectives.

“Projects being deployed through this Framework are already impacting communities, agricultural clusters, hospitals and most importantly, homes across the nation,” he explained.

The overall analysis of evaluation done about the rural electrification projects by the agency so far for 2022 indicated that the farmers who had used 786 fuel-based pumps and 206 electric pumps in the six geopolitical regions and yearly, had much expenses to make. For instance, a diesel/petrol pump consumes about 1,000 litres of fuel estimated to cost N320,000 and N700,000, but such cost has gone off from their books completely with the solar-powered water pump.

The Executive Director, Technical Services at REA, Engr. Barka Sajou, said the directorate is leading the paradigm shift within the agency in the delivery of its projects.

“Capital projects funded through the public budget are deployed in a sustainable manner to de-risk various business models, catalyse private sector capital and make developmental goals achievable,” Sajou noted.

Highlighting the need to improve the utilisation of renewable energy sources, Engr. Mark Ogbu of Soltiva Energy Ltd, said the world is pushing for cleaner energy and Nigeria, which already has an Energy transition Plan (ETP), cannot afford to be left behind.