The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has signed a $750m (N1.21tr) solar electrification grant with developers to provide electricity to 17.5 million Nigerians. This grant, under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) project, is funded by the World Bank and aims to accelerate access to reliable electricity.

During the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Managing Director of REA, Abba Aliyu, stated that this project is the largest public sector funded renewable project globally and will deploy 1,350 solar mini grids. The project aims to enhance the reliability of electricity for customers on Band D and E through interconnected mini grids.

The project implementation is divided into two components: the deployment of mini grids (isolated or interconnected) and the deployment of solar home systems. Isolated mini grids will provide access to communities currently without electricity.

Out of 82 national and international companies that applied for the grant, nine have submitted their sites. To date, 198 sites have been submitted, which will provide over 340,000 connections and add 47 megawatts of clean, reliable electricity to the country's total capacity.

The 11 sites being signed include those by Baobab Plus, Salpha Energy, Asolar, NTA-StarTimes, A4&T, Sunking Greenlight Planet, Bboxx, D.Light and Privida Power Limited.

REA’s Head of the Nigeria Electrification Programme, Olufemi Akinyelure, highlighted the initiative's broader impact, stating that every connection made under DARES is a gateway to education, healthcare, commerce, and inclusion.