The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to construct modular solar power plants with a combined capacity of 1,900 megawatts for the 19 northern states, as part of efforts to boost renewable energy adoption and expand the national grid.
This was revealed by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu during the sixth edition of the 2025 Ministerial press briefing series held on Thursday in Abuja.
Adelabu said each solar-powered station will produce approximately 100MW of electricity, enabling states to become more energy-independent and reduce reliance on the national grid.
He also stated that the government is pursuing private investment to help expand the grid and improve generation.
The northern region recently faced challenges with a stable power supply due to a surge in vandalism and theft of critical transmission infrastructure.
Recall that lst October, vandals destroyed the important 330kV Shiroro-Kaduna power line that supplies the states of Kano and Kaduna, and another line that supplies Bauchi, Gombe, and other parts of the northeast.
This incident led to a month-long blackout in 17 out of 19 northern states in the country. Following the repairs, the governors of the 19 northern states called for the diversification of energy to ensure improved electricity supply.
The Punch newspaper reports that the states include Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe and Katsina. Others are Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue.
But speaking at the event to update the public and highlight achievements recorded so far, the minister emphasized that with Nigeria’s abundant sunshine, there is no reason the country cannot achieve utility-scale solar power generation.
He said, “In addition to these initiatives, private investors like Sun Africa Energy and Skipper Electric are keen to invest in Nigeria’s power sector, emphasising renewable generation and grid expansion. What we have today on our grid are just two types of power, hydropower and gas-powered plants.
“But with the abundance of sunshine that we have in Nigeria, nothing stops us from having utility-scale solar power generation. And we have two companies that have expressed interest in this. We have evaluated, and discussions are at a very, very high stage.
“Number one is Sun Africa, which intends to bring in about 1,000MW of solar energy to complement the efforts of Niger Delta Power Holding Company at their various locations. And this will go straight into the grid. That’s adding solar power to our grid.
“Then the second is Skipper Energy, who has also decided to construct modular solar power plants in the 19 states of the northern part of Nigeria, about 100MW each, so that each state will be independent and the independence of the national grid will be reduced. This will ensure that we have solar power in our national grid.”
Continuing, Adelabu described the 8,000MW target as realistic, noting that power generation has already improved by about 40 per cent since the current administration took office.
He said average daily generation rose from 4,100MW in Q3 2023 to 5,700MW in the last quarter of 2025, peaking at 5,800MW.
He highlighted that while it took Nigeria nearly 40 years, from 1984 to 2022, to grow from 2,000MW to 4,000MW, the current administration added 1,700MW in just over a year.
“I assumed office in August 2023, and within a short time, we’ve moved from an unstable 4,100MW to a steady 5,800MW,” he said, adding that if past governments had added just 1,000MW each year since 1999, Nigeria would now be producing over 30,000MW.
Adelabu credited the recent progress to President Tinubu’s support and expressed confidence that, if current momentum continues, the country could reach 8,000MW by 2027.
“Now that we have created a trajectory, if we sustain this trajectory, I can assure you that before the end of this administration in 2027, we should be able to generate and distribute nothing less than 8,000MW of power,” he assured.
