In an effort to enhance access to clean energy for 17.5 million Nigerians, the World Bank has approved the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project. The project is financed by a $750 million International Development Association (IDA) credit and will leverage over $1 billion of private capital along with significant parallel financing from development partners.
Development Partners and Financing
The financing from development partners includes $100 million from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and $200 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Other collaborators on the program include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the German Development Agency (GIZ), SEforAll, and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Project Objectives and Scale
The DARES project aims to provide over 17.5 million Nigerians with new or improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions. It will utilize innovative financing solutions to scale up private sector-led clean electricity provision in Nigeria.
Addressing Energy Access Gap
As of 2021, over 85 million Nigerians lacked access to electricity, and those with access faced unreliable and insufficient supply. To bridge this gap, DARES will build on the achievements of the World Bank-financed Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), which has supported the establishment of 125 mini-grids and the sale of over a million Solar Home Systems, benefiting more than 5.5 million Nigerians.
Focus on Gender and Inclusion
The DARES program will prioritize gender and inclusion by building on the NEP’s gender-related actions to facilitate access to electricity for disadvantaged female-headed households and women-led MSMEs. It also aims to increase the employment of women in the energy sector.
Quote from World Bank Country Director
Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, stated, “We are committed to expanding clean energy-based access in Nigeria, with the $750 million Nigeria DARES project being the largest ever single distributed energy project of the World Bank globally.”
Minister of Power’s Statement
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adebalu, expressed excitement about the DARES program, highlighting its potential to provide reliable and clean electricity to over 237,000 MSMEs, improving income generation and creating local jobs.
Program Impact and Goals
The DARES program aims to replace more than 280,000 polluting and expensive petrol and diesel generator sets, contributing to Nigeria’s energy transition targets. It is expected to support the country in closing its electricity access gap and accelerating its transition toward sustainable, efficient, and economically viable electricity supply.
Source: thisdaylive.com
