Nigeria's Lagos State is targeting the installation of 600 MW of commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar as part of reaching 1 GW of solar capacity this decade.
Olarere Odusote, Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Resources, revealed how regional authorities and the World Bank predicted the collapse of the 1 GW ambition. Odusote said $350 million to $700 million would need to be invested in 500 megawatt rooftop solar projects by mid-2027, Odusote said 200 megawatts of 1 gigawatt of total installed capacity would be in the form of residential arrays, and the government expects The number of buildings is the same.
The plans were discussed at a recent workshop between Lagos State and the World Bank. C&I Solar is expected to be owned by rental companies, with households and public institutions having their own systems.
Agasa News reported this week that the Lagos State grid has an 83% gap between electricity supply and demand, ranging from 33TWh to 43TWh. Odusote described rooftop solar as "one of the potential solutions being considered" to make up for grid shortages, the article said.
The workshop reportedly concluded that the necessary funding for the rooftop array will be provided in the form of grants, equity investments and cheap loans from donor agencies, equity investors and commercial lenders.
The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that Nigeria will have only 33 MW of grid-connected solar capacity by the end of 2021.