…Begins 16MW projects across four communities
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Government has commissioned a 1-megawatt (MW) solar mini-grid equipped with a 2.4-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system in Tallasse community, Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State, as part of efforts to expand electricity access and stimulate economic activities in rural communities.
The commissioning, held on Saturday, also featured the groundbreaking of four additional interconnected mini-grid projects with a combined capacity of 16MW across Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo communities in the state.
The projects form part of the government’s broader strategy to accelerate renewable energy deployment, improve electricity reliability and support productive economic activities beyond major urban centres.
In addition to the power infrastructure, the Tallasse project features the deployment of productive-use equipment, including electric tricycles, an electric groundnut oil processing plant, a modular electric rice mill and multi-flour electric grinding machines.
The initiative is designed to connect reliable electricity supply directly to transportation, agricultural processing, enterprise development and income generation.
The development comes days after the groundbreaking of interconnected mini-grid projects with a combined capacity of 17.7MW in Iwo, Ibadan, Oyo State, underscoring the government’s push to expand distributed renewable energy across the country.
Speaking at the commissioning, Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, described the project as another outcome of the strategic partnership between the state government and the Federal Government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
He said the initiative was particularly significant because it linked electricity access with the economic strengths of the local community, especially agriculture and agro-processing.
“For us in Gombe State, this project is significant because it connects energy directly to the economic strengths of our people. Balanga is an agricultural community. When reliable electricity is combined with rice milling, groundnut processing, flour production and electric mobility, we are not merely lighting homes, we are strengthening an entire local economy,” the governor said.
Yahaya commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Power and the leadership of REA for supporting the project, describing the partnership as an example of translating government policy into infrastructure that communities can use to improve their livelihoods.
In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the projects represented the practical implementation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its objective of expanding access to economic opportunities irrespective of geographical location.
“From Kwara State and the Federal Capital Territory to last Wednesday’s event in Oyo State, and now here in Gombe, renewable power is spreading across Nigeria with unmistakable momentum,” Tegbe said.
He noted that the investments were intended to go beyond providing electricity for household lighting by creating the conditions for rural businesses to grow, agricultural produce to be processed locally and employment opportunities to expand.
According to the minister, the impact of the projects would ultimately be measured by the improvements they deliver to the daily lives of residents, including farmers, traders, artisans, entrepreneurs and young people.
“The true significance of these investments will be measured in the daily lives they improve: the farmer who can process produce closer to home, the trader who can preserve perishable goods, the artisan who can power equipment, and the young person who can build a livelihood within the community,” he added.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abba Aliyu, disclosed that the 1MW Tallasse mini-grid would serve 6,028 connections, comprising 5,929 residential units, 84 commercial connections and 15 dedicated nodes for productive economic activities.
Aliyu said the project reflected a shift in the agency’s approach to rural electrification, from focusing primarily on the number of connections and megawatts deployed to measuring the economic outcomes generated by electricity access.
He said the agency was increasingly assessing whether electrification interventions enabled farmers to process more produce, entrepreneurs to establish businesses, households to reduce mobility costs and local enterprises to extend operating hours and employ more workers.
“For many years, the conversation around electricity access has understandably focused on how many people we connect and how many megawatts we deploy. Those numbers remain important. But the next frontier is to ask a more fundamental question: what happens after the electricity arrives?” he said.
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The REA chief executive added that integrating productive-use equipment into the Tallasse project would help translate electricity access into improved productivity, increased incomes and broader economic opportunities.
Aliyu also highlighted the importance of the project’s 2.4MWh battery energy storage system, saying it reflected REA’s growing emphasis on the reliability and quality of electricity supply.
He explained that access to electricity without dependable supply could limit the economic benefits of rural electrification, particularly for businesses and agricultural processing facilities that require consistent power.
“Access without reliability limits economic impact. This is why we are increasingly integrating storage, intelligent monitoring, productive-use equipment and sustainable operating models into our interventions. We are building electricity ecosystems, not simply installing power plants,” Aliyu said.
The integration of battery storage is intended to support the delivery of more reliable electricity alongside infrastructure designed to encourage commercial and productive activities within the beneficiary communities.
The Balanga commissioning comes as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to deploy distributed renewable energy as a complement to conventional grid infrastructure in addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges.
Through the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme and other REA interventions, the government is pursuing investments aimed at expanding electricity access while attracting private capital and developing a commercially sustainable distributed-energy market.
The approach incorporates interconnected and isolated mini-grids, embedded generation, solar home systems and dedicated renewable-energy solutions for universities, agricultural clusters, markets and other productive communities.
By combining electricity infrastructure with equipment for agricultural processing, transportation and small businesses, the government is seeking to ensure that rural electrification delivers benefits beyond household connections.
The commissioning of the Tallasse mini-grid and the commencement of the additional 16MW projects in Gombe add to ongoing efforts to expand renewable energy access, improve rural productivity and create new opportunities for businesses and communities across Nigeria.
