The Nigerian Government has awarded $75 Million to Dutch company, Lumos Global BV, to set up off-grid solar power systems.
These will be essential to powering rural households, previously unconnected to the main grid.
According to Bloomberg, the funds are a fraction of the US$ 350 million grant to facilitate Nigeria’s rural electrification program.
The balance, (US$ 250 million) will be channeled towards building Solar Mindgrids.
Lumos has been a dominant off-grid solar power player in Nigeria since its launch in 2016. Its solar power systems have since powered over 100,000 homes in rural areas.
Related article: Nova-Lumos receives £150,000 grant for expansion in Northern Nigeria
Nigeria has a population of roughly 200 million people. However, only 60% of them are connected to any source of power.
This is due to an outdated power grid system. More often than not it is unreliable, resulting in regular and extended blackouts.
This has negatively impacted Nigerians’ productivity, and subsequently their economy.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the regular power outages have cost the West African country close to US$ 29 Billion annually.
Lumos is looking to light over a million Nigerian homes by 2025.
On top of rural areas, Lumos is also looking to power towns and cities with regular blackouts.
