Business & Investment

­Nigeria is seeing a coordinated push to scale renewable energy that government officials and investors say could support the country’s industrial expansion and its target of a $1 trillion economy. The momentum comes as global energy systems are being redesigned at speed. Solar capacity is expanding faster than at any point in history, while electricity demand is changing. Beyond households and traditional industries, new drivers such as electric mobility, data centers, cloud computing, and manufacturing are reshaping consumption. In Nigeria, that global shift is now backed by a growing wave of investments and funding for renewables. The federal government, through the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, is leading the effort in partnership with private investors and development partners, with an enabling policy environment providing support. In Niger State recently, the state government handed over 500 hectares of land for a 200MW solar project that will power Abuja Steel Mills. Officials say the project is not only about generating electricity but about creating a model for how renewable energy can directly support industrial growth, local manufacturing, job creation, and economic transformation. Development partners are also committing significant capital. The United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, under its Africa Minigrids Program, AMP, with funding from the Global Environment Facility, GEF, and in partnership with RMI, the African Development Bank, and the REA, has invested over $5.9 million across 23 sites in Nigeria. The funding is designed to support women as leaders in sustainable energy. UNDP estimates the mini-grid investments will mitigate about 74,000 metric tons of CO₂ over their lifetime by replacing diesel and fuelwood with solar, and has already transformed the lives and businesses of more than 20,000 people. The International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, is providing up to $83.2 million to expand last-mile power access. The financing will back five Renewable Energy Service Companies, RESCOs: Darway Coast Nigeria Limited, GVE Projects Limited, Prado Power Limited, PriVida Power Limited, and StarTimes Energy. The package includes $35.3 million in concessional debt from the IDA Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility and IFC’s Concessional Capital Window. Together, the initiatives represent an estimated $271 million in capital expenditure to deploy 315 solar hybrid mini-grid sites and connect 2.9 million people to clean electricity. Private sector companies are also scaling up. In May 2025, Sun King, in partnership with IFC and Stanbic IBTC Bank, secured an $80 million, fully Naira-denominated loan facility to expand off-grid solar access in Nigeria. Co-Founder Anish Thakkar said at the time that “off-grid solar provides the fastest and most scalable pathway to universal electrification across Africa.” The investment aligns with Nigeria’s Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank Group and contributes to Mission 300, a joint initiative with the African Development Bank launched in 2025 to expand electricity access across the continent. Commercial banks are building dedicated facilities as well. First City Monument Bank, FCMB, launched a $188 million Green Finance Facility alongside the REA to support sustainable infrastructure, and had earlier announced a ₦100 billion dual-currency fund for energy access expansion. Lotus Bank has also partnered with the REA on a ₦100 billion interest-free renewable energy financing line to ensure market-tailored credit reaches underserved communities. More recently, WeLight, described as one of Africa’s largest rural electrification companies, said it will invest in Nigeria by 2027. Backed by €27 million from IFC and an earlier Memorandum of Understanding with the REA, the company plans to deploy and operate 400 mini-grids and 50 MetroGrids in Nigeria by 2030. The REA says it is prioritizing locations where reliable power can quickly translate into productivity and revenue, rather than attempting to solve every challenge at once. That approach informs the federal government’s “Electricity Growth Zones,” areas where electricity supply, economic demand, infrastructure investment, and private capital are deliberately aligned. Officials argue that distributed energy can move faster than traditional infrastructure when economics, policy, and technology align, and that solar-plus-storage, embedded generation, and dedicated renewable infrastructure can support the $1 trillion ambition in ways conventional grid supply alone may struggle to deliver in the short term. Speaking at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Renewable Energy Outlook Conference, REA Managing Director Dr. Abba Aliyu said, “If Nigeria creates predictable pipelines of mini-grids, public-sector solarization, embedded generation, industrial solar systems, and large renewable projects, manufacturers will have the confidence to invest.” He added, “If manufacturers invest, projects become cheaper, supply chains become stronger, jobs are created, and the economy captures more value.” Under Dr. Aliyu’s leadership, the agency is moving away from its past reputation as a vehicle for constituency projects and is positioning itself as a market-enabling institution. The REA says it is building the data, standards, project pipelines, demand aggregation models, and financing partnerships that allow the private sector to scale. With capital now flowing from development finance institutions, private equity, and commercial banks, officials say the coming decade will be defined by renewables.

  Finnish renewable energy investor Korkia has secured a key environmental permit to develop one of Scandinavia’s largest hybrid renewable energy sites, marking a significant milestone for solar deployment in a region traditionally dominated by wind and hydro. The approval, granted by the County Administrative Board of Dalarna to Korkia Renewables Development Sweden, will allow the company to construct a 150-MWp solar photovoltaic plant alongside a 150-MW/600-MWh battery energy storage system, BESS, in the Vilmoren forest area of Dalarna county. The Smedjebacken Project: Scale and Output Collectively known as the Smedjebacken project, the integrated facility is designed to maximize grid stability and energy output. Once commissioned, the solar array is expected to generate approximately 150 GWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power tens of thousands of Swedish households. The co-located 150-MW/600-MWh battery system will store excess solar generation during peak daylight hours and discharge it during periods of high demand or low sunlight, helping to balance the grid and reduce curtailment risks. Korkia confirmed that the project has already secured a grid connection agreement with the local network operator. With the environmental permit now in hand, the development is advancing toward “ready-to-build” status, with final investment decisions and engineering work expected next. A Rare Approval in Scandinavia According to Korkia, permits for utility-scale solar and storage hybrids remain uncommon across Scandinavia. The region’s renewable pipeline has historically focused onshore wind and hydropower, while large solar farms have faced regulatory, climatic, and land-use hurdles. The Smedjebacken approval therefore stands out as one of the few projects of comparable scale to clear environmental review in Sweden. Korkia said the decision signals growing regulatory openness to diversifying Sweden’s clean energy mix and integrating more dispatchable solar capacity to complement intermittent wind resources. “The hybrid model is critical for the next phase of the energy transition here,” a Korkia spokesperson noted. “Pairing solar with long-duration storage allows us to deliver reliable, carbon-free power even in a northern latitude.” Part of a Broader Global Permitting Push The Swedish milestone caps an active first half of 2026 for Korkia across its international portfolio. The company reported several other permitting successes earlier this year, underscoring its expansion strategy beyond the Nordics. Those wins included environmental approvals for two separate solar projects in Alberta, Canada, a new substation development in Chile to support grid integration, and a series of licenses for both solar and storage projects in Romania. With Smedjebacken now permitted, Korkia is positioning the site as a flagship example of how hybrid solar-plus-storage can be deployed at scale in markets where such projects are still emerging. Construction timelines will depend on final financing and procurement, but the firm says it is moving quickly to keep the project on track for delivery in the coming years. As Sweden looks to meet its long-term decarbonization targets, the Smedjebacken hybrid plant could help set a precedent for more large-scale solar and storage development across the wider Nordic region.