Multiple solar off-grid power plants, with a total capacity of 134.64 kilowatts have been commissioned in communities in Bayelsa State under the National Electrification Project (NEP) through a collaboration between World Bank, African Development Bank and Rural Electrification Project (REA). While the World Bank contributed $350 million, the AfDB committed $200 million to the project.
The beneficiary communities are Akipelai and Oloibiri in Bayelsa State with electricity capacity than can cater for 30,000 micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and 300,000 households in both .The project comes in off-grid renewable power system.
The NEP is a Federal Government programme that seeks to provide energy access to households and enterprises in off-grid communities across Nigeria, through renewable power sources. The Electrification is an innovative programme to catalyse off-grid development in Nigeria, through the provision of grant funding, detailed market data and technical assistance in collaboration with the World Bank .
The two systems include 134.64kW of solar PV, 180kWh of lithium battery storage and two units of 100-kva diesel generator sets. The solar-powered hybrid mini-grids would provide clean, safe and reliable electricity to thousands of people; and spur economic growth in Akipelai and Oloibiri communities, respectively.
The two solar hybrid mini-grids were developed by Renewvia Energy Corporation, a recipient of performance-based grants (PBGs) from the REA through the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project. The hybrid plants have been commissioned under the Performance-Based Grant (PBG) component of NEP.
