A new 581-kilowatt-peak (kWp) interconnected solar mini-grid backed by a 1.4-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system has been commissioned in Oke-Oyi, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, in a move aimed at extending more reliable electricity to rural households and businesses.
The project, commissioned by the Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, is designed to provide electricity beyond daylight hours, with its expanded battery storage capacity allowing the mini-grid to continue supplying the community at night.
The development forms part of the Federal Government’s broader push to expand electricity access through distributed renewable energy and interconnected mini-grids, particularly in communities where conventional grid supply remains inadequate.
The Oke-Oyi project was delivered under the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS) and supported through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), with backing from the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany through GIZ, UNICEF and other development partners.
At the commissioning, Tegbe described the IMAS model as an approach capable of attracting private capital into Nigeria’s electricity sector while creating the market and regulatory conditions required for commercially sustainable mini-grid investments.
According to the minister, the scheme is intended to use public funding strategically to leverage private-sector investment rather than create projects dependent indefinitely on government subsidies.
The project is also being positioned as an example of how renewable energy generation can be integrated with existing electricity distribution infrastructure.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) said the Oke-Oyi mini-grid demonstrates the potential of interconnected mini-grids to combine distributed renewable energy with existing distribution networks, while improving electricity supply and creating conditions for greater private-sector participation.
He said the agency would continue to focus on scaling similar projects through stronger financing, regulatory and institutional frameworks, while paying attention to commercial viability, maintenance and community ownership.
The REA acknowledged the contributions of the Federal Ministry of Power, Kwara State Government and development partners, as well as the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited, to the delivery of the Oke-Oyi project.
Representing Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, said improved electricity supply could have wider implications for rural communities, particularly by supporting local economic activity and helping to address rural-urban migration.
“As the Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly and being from a rural area, we understand the importance of electricity in taming rural-urban migration,” Danladi-Salihu said.
He also commended the Federal Government’s power-sector interventions and said the project represented an important development for communities outside the major urban centres.
For Oke-Oyi, the immediate significance of the project lies in its ability to extend electricity availability beyond the hours of solar generation. The 1.4MW battery storage system is expected to provide greater continuity of supply, particularly during nighttime periods when solar generation is unavailable.
The mini-grid is expected to serve about 1,800 households and businesses, potentially providing a more dependable electricity base for commercial activities and other productive uses within the community.
Tegbe, while declaring the project commissioned on behalf of the Federal Government, urged residents to protect the infrastructure against vandalism and other forms of criminal interference.
He described the electricity system as a community asset intended to support economic opportunities and improve livelihoods.
“As we energize this community, we are also energizing businesses, creating opportunities, empowering young people, improving livelihoods, and building a more resilient future for Nigeria,” the minister said.
The Oke-Oyi project adds to Nigeria’s growing deployment of distributed renewable energy systems as the country seeks to close its electricity access gap and diversify the sources through which power reaches underserved communities.
The Nigeria Electrification Programme, for instance, identifies mini-grids and other distributed renewable energy systems as key mechanisms for extending electricity services to households, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, educational institutions and healthcare facilities in unserved and underserved communities.
For the power sector, the Oke-Oyi development highlights an increasingly important role for solar generation combined with battery energy storage in addressing the reliability challenge beyond conventional grid expansion. The Federal Ministry of Power has also identified grid stability and a more resilient electricity system as central to its ongoing power-sector reform agenda.
