Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency has launched work on 37 solar mini-grid schemes in Zamfara State, comprising two interconnected systems and 35 stand-alone grids with combined planned generation capacity of about 18.8MWp. The projects are intended to supply 125,106 household-equivalent connections across seven local government areas.
Quick facts
- 37 planned mini-grids: two interconnected and 35 isolated systems.
- Solar capacity is estimated at 18.8MWp, targeting 125,106 connections.
- Projects will cover Gummi, Gusau, Kaura Namoda, Maradun, Shinkafi, Tsafe and Zurmi.
- Two commissioned state projects add 2.2MW of solar capacity and more than 3MW of battery storage.
- The state also introduced 100 electric taxis, 10 maternal-health electric tricycles and two CNG buses.
The launch and commissioning event also introduced the Zamfara State Electricity Policy and formalised a cooperation deal between the REA and the state government to solarise public institutions. The agreement is designed to guide the expansion of dependable renewable power to key public facilities.
Governor Dauda Lawal said the policy and REA partnership formed part of Zamfara’s wider economic-development programme. He said the state was deliberately reshaping its power future through a regulated, sustainable and investor-friendly electricity market suited to residents’ needs and the economy’s growth goals.
Reliable energy is essential for farm-sector transformation, industrial expansion, health services, schools and employment creation, Lawal said. He added that installing solar power at public facilities would turn policy commitments into infrastructure capable of improving essential services.
The governor said renewable power should become a major engine for business creation, opportunity and prosperity throughout the state. His administration’s objective, he said, is an electricity system where government creates favourable conditions, investors provide funding and innovation, and communities receive dependable, affordable supply.
Power Minister Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe said the event illustrated the Federal Government’s commitment to broader electricity access and to states taking a bigger role in developing power markets. Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, he said, the government is pursuing an electricity transformation plan based on decentralised systems, state-level markets and private investment.
The launch of the state policy, the start of new mini-grid construction and the commissioning of renewable facilities showed how regulatory changes can deliver concrete development results, Tegbe said. Electricity must serve more than household lighting, he added: it should run hospitals, improve schools, raise agricultural output, enable companies and upgrade public services.
The Federal Government will continue backing states that take practical measures to build their electricity markets and establish conditions for sustainable private-sector funding, the minister said. Zamfara demonstrates the coordinated approach needed to address Nigeria’s electricity deficit while opening fresh economic opportunities, he added.
REA Managing Director and Chief Executive Dr Abba Aliyu said the Zamfara programme offered a chance to demonstrate a different model for Nigerian electricity development. The approach combines infrastructure spending, state policy reform, electrification of institutions and private-sector involvement.
Rather than viewing energy access as a sequence of separate projects, Zamfara is building an integrated electricity economy supported by policy, capital, institutions and durable market arrangements, Aliyu said. The 37 planned systems carry roughly 18.8MWp of solar generation and are expected to deliver 125,106 connections across the seven local government areas.
Using an illustrative average of five people for each household-equivalent connection, the programme could potentially reach more than 625,000 people, depending on the eventual share of residential, commercial and institutional customers. But Aliyu said the economic importance extended well beyond the connection total.
The projects could allow businesses to operate more productively, strengthen agricultural supply chains, support new jobs, improve public-institution performance and unlock private capital, he said. The state electricity policy is especially important because infrastructure without an enabling market risks becoming a group of unconnected assets.
Clear policies, capable institutions, commercially workable tariffs, credible oversight and predictable investment terms can turn infrastructure into the base of a sustainable power economy, Aliyu said. The public-institution solarisation agreement is also strategically important, he added.
Hospitals, schools and government offices across Nigeria often rely on costly backup generation because grid supply is unreliable, placing financial and operational pressure on those institutions. The Zamfara partnership aims to show how decentralised renewable energy can raise service quality, lower long-term running costs and establish commercially sustainable ways to power critical infrastructure.
Public facilities can also provide anchor demand for electricity projects, improving their bankability and making it easier to extend dependable supply to nearby communities and businesses, Aliyu said. The REA is increasingly measuring programmes against three outcomes: infrastructure delivered, private funds mobilised and the economic value generated by each investment.
Under the $750 million World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, known as DARES, the national target is to expand power access to about 17.5 million Nigerians. The programme also supports development of around 1,350 mini-grids and a broader expansion of distributed renewable-energy systems.
Zamfara’s programme should be viewed as part of that national transition, Aliyu said. Nigeria’s future electricity access will depend not only on public spending, but on how effectively policy, state investment and institutional coordination can attract private capital, establish viable markets and generate lasting economic opportunities.
The ultimate objective is not simply to provide Zamfara with electricity, he said, but to link its people, companies and institutions to an economy built around productivity, investment and opportunity.
The new Zamfara electricity policy is intended to establish a structured market that is commercially viable and appealing to investors. With the Electricity Act 2023 allowing states to take greater responsibility for power-market development, Zamfara is seeking to attract private funding, promote decentralised infrastructure and align energy planning with its economic priorities.
The policy is expected to set strategic guidance for institutional coordination, market formation, private-sector involvement and the long-term durability of electricity services. Alongside it, the REA-state agreement creates a framework for solar installations at healthcare sites, educational facilities and other essential government assets.
At the event, the power minister commissioned two solar mini-grids developed by the Zamfara State Government. A 1MW system at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital is intended to provide dependable electricity for medical services.
A separate 1.2MW solar mini-grid will power the Zamfara State Government House, strengthening supply for government operations. Together, the two schemes account for 2.2MW of commissioned solar capacity, backed by more than 3MW of battery storage.
Tegbe also unveiled 100 ZamTaxi electric vehicles, expanding the state’s clean-transport programme. In a related health initiative, 10 electric tricycles reserved for maternal-health services were introduced to improve transport access for pregnant women and mothers.
Two compressed natural gas buses donated by the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, or Pi-CNG, were also unveiled. The buses support Federal Government efforts to promote alternative transport fuels.
The planned investments are expected to improve electricity availability for homes, businesses, farming operations and public bodies while supporting local economic activity. The programme underscores options available to Nigerian states as the power sector undergoes structural change.
By combining a state electricity framework, decentralised generation investments, solar power for institutions and cleaner mobility projects, Zamfara is pursuing an integrated energy-development strategy. The REA said it will continue assisting the state through technical cooperation, project preparation and private-sector engagement.
That support will focus particularly on the commercial viability of electricity assets and their impact on economic productivity. The public-institution solarisation agreement could also help test scalable funding and delivery models that may be reproduced in other states.
As Nigeria pursues wider power access and energy-transition targets, the Zamfara programme shows how coordinated federal and state action can convert sector reforms into physical infrastructure and measurable economic gains.
