Niger pushes to electrify poor rural areas

Niger's Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy Ibrahim Yacoubou said on June 10 that the government aims to electrify all villages with more than 1,000 residents to increase people's access to energy.

Niger aims to electrify all villages with more than 1,000 inhabitants. (Illustration photo. Source: dsnsolar.com)

Niger is one of the countries with low electricity access rates as well as large urban-rural disparities.

Currently, only about 20% of the urban population and less than 5% of the rural population have electricity to use.

Previously, in September 2022, the Niger government and the World Bank (WB) launched a major electrification program, with a total budget of 317.5 million USD, to increase electricity access in Niger to 30% by 2026 and 80% by 2035, compared to the current level of 17.5%.

Thanks to this program, more than 2,000 villages have been electrified to date.

Firewood is still the main fuel providing nearly 80% of household energy for lighting and cooking in Niger. This vast Sahel country, two-thirds desert, is also suffering the adverse effects of climate change.

To wean itself off energy dependence on neighboring Nigeria, Niger is working to complete its first dam on the Niger River by 2025. The project, located about 180 km upstream of Niamey, is expected to generate 629 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually.

In 2018, the Nigerian government established the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), which includes a funding mechanism to encourage private sector mini-grid developers to enter the market.

The NEP has recently been expanded to enable renewable energy companies to expand their market share, thereby promoting rural electrification through solutions such as solar power systems and mini-grids that can reach rural communities, providing clean electricity to healthcare facilities, schools and businesses.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/niger-no-luc-thuc-day-dien-khi-hoa-cho-cac-vung-nong-thon-ngheo-230553.html