Nigerians Press For Solar Jobs and Electricity, With Limited Success

In sun-drenched Nigeria, 14 new solar farms were expected to kickstart a dwindling solar sector and create massive amounts of power, around one-fifth of what the country’s whole electric grid provides on a normal day. “We were very excited because we were pioneers,” said Najim Animashaun, managing director of Nova Solar Power, who was involved in one of the projects in 2016.

But that dream was dashed when the Nigerian government refused to grant vital guarantees to developers. It’s not that there is a lack of demand for renewable energy — even the tiniest solar systems for households have grown in popularity and produced jobs — but big developers haven’t been able to overcome Nigeria’s reputation as a risky location to do business.

“Many of your countries face sky-high borrowing costs, runaway debt, and inadequate climate finance and investment,” said António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, during a panel on Africa’s green transition at this year’s global climate discussions in Baku, Azerbaijan. He stated that as a result, “your clean energy revolution has been held back.”

Nigeria may be the problem’s epicenter. Nigerians have less access to power than any other country’s citizens. Their numbers have even increased since a decade ago: Africa’s most populated country, with over 220 million inhabitants, has grown faster than its power industry has. Even people who are linked to the grid have regular blackouts. Millions are forced to rely on wood for cooking and toxic, noisy diesel generators for intermittent power.

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