The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), an initiative founded by the Bezos Earth Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation, is piloting a solar mini-grid program in Nigeria aimed at addressing unreliable electricity and enhancing productivity.

GEAPP, formed in 2021, is spearheading a program known as Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology (DART), which reduces solar equipment costs by pooling developers’ needs. It also provides a $25 million financing facility for equipment imports, repayable in naira. According to Muhammad Wakil, GEAPP’s country delivery lead, the initiative offers up to 30% savings for developers by using this pooling arrangement.

The project’s first site, a one-megawatt solar mini-grid built by Nigerian company Darway Coast in Ogun State, will supply 24-hour electricity to the local community by the end of the year, replacing the current eight-hour supply from Ikeja Electric Plc. This mini-grid according to TheCable, is part of a larger plan to roll out similar projects across the country, with the aim of establishing 10 gigawatts of mini-grids to combat energy poverty.

The program’s success has drawn support from international organizations, with the World Bank pledging $130 million for similar facilities. GEAPP’s efforts complement Nigeria’s existing energy infrastructure by working alongside the national grid to ensure continuous power supply to businesses and homes. Wakil emphasized that thousands of such projects are needed across the country to end energy poverty.

Ikeja Electric’s Power Purchase Manager, Fatima Haliru, noted that, rather than seeing mini-grid developers as competitors, they should be viewed as partners in line with the provisions of Nigeria’s Electricity Act.