For much of Nigeria’s modern history, electricity supply has depended less on the national grid than on private solutions. Diesel and petrol generators have filled the gap left by chronic underinvestment and frequent grid failures.
That balance is now shifting. Outside the grid, solar power has become the fastest-growing source of electricity in the country as a practical response to long-standing constraints.
The scale of change is visible in trade data. In the year to June, Nigeria imported 1,721 megawatts of photovoltaic panels, more than triple the volume recorded in 2021.
This places Nigeria second only to South Africa in solar imports across Africa. Unlike South Africa, however, Nigeria’s solar growth is overwhelmingly decentralized.
Most installations are not feeding utility-scale plants but are being deployed directly to households, businesses, and community infrastructure.
This pattern reflects the limits of the national grid. Nigeria’s grid, largely built from the 1960s onward and powered mainly by natural gas, can supply around 4 gigawatts of electricity.
For a population of roughly 237 million, that capacity has never been sufficient. As a result, an estimated 75 gigawatts of power is supplied by petrol and diesel generators. Around 90 million Nigerians still have little or no access to electricity.
In this context, solar has expanded the grid by bypassing it. In rural communities such as Akanu in Abia State, grid power collapsed in 2020 and was never restored. Residents responded by funding solar-powered streetlights through local levies, donations, and support from local authorities. A community association now maintains the system. At night, streets remain lit, businesses stay open, and movement continues well past dusk.
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The economic effects are immediate. Shop owners report longer operating hours and lower energy costs. Small enterprises that once shut down early now trade into the evening.
In areas where fuel prices have risen sharply since the removal of subsidies in 2023, solar has reduced exposure to volatile diesel and petrol costs.
Private operators are scaling these models. Husk Power Systems runs dozens of solar minigrids across Nigeria, supplying power to communities with unreliable or nonexistent grid access.
Sun King, which sells small solar kits and batteries through pay-as-you-go financing, now distributes about 75,000 units a month in Nigeria, compared with 3,000 a month in 2020. These systems typically power lighting, refrigeration, phone charging, water pumps, and small machinery.
International finance has supported the expansion. Nigeria is a major beneficiary of a $750 million World Bank-led program aimed at expanding electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa. The country is also in discussions with bilateral partners and development banks for additional funding.
Investors have been encouraged by Nigeria’s regulatory framework, which allows off-grid power providers to set prices that reflect costs, unlike in some neighboring markets where price controls have stalled deployment.
The result is a steady realignment. Outside the grid, solar is growing faster than any other source of power because it matches how electricity is actually consumed: locally, unevenly, and with little tolerance for outages. In many communities, solar is no longer a stopgap. It is becoming the primary source of power by default, not by design.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
