NEWS

At Nigeria’s Federal University in Lafia, in the north-central part of the country, a new solar hybrid project financed by the African Development Bank Group is making a difference in the lives of people by delivering reliable electricity to classrooms, laboratories, offices and other facilities. Power cuts that were once common are becoming a thing of the past.

The power plant is one of eight being built by the government across eight Nigerian federal universities, with financing from the African Development Bank Group, under Phase III of the Energising Education Programme (EEP), a component of the $200 million Nigeria Electrification Project.

In addition to the Federal University of Lafia, the beneficiaries are University of Port Harcourt and its Teaching Hospital; Federal University Dutsin-Ma; Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Federal University Lokoja; Federal University of Technology, Akure; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; and Federal University of Uyo.

The programme will deliver a combined 36.5 megawatts of solar hybrid capacity across the eight universities – enough electricity to run eight universities and one university teaching hospital around the clock, which is comparable to powering more than 30,000 Nigerian homes annually. The plants integrate photovoltaic generation, battery storage, and backup support to enhance operational resilience.

By targeting universities – critical anchors of Nigeria’s human capital development, the programme demonstrates how strategic energy investments can catalyse impact across education, healthcare, research, and workforce readiness.

At the University of Port Harcourt, the 10.77 megawatts solar hybrid installation is designed to serve both the university campus and its teaching hospital. Since the start of trial operations in December 2025, monthly electricity expenditure has declined from approximately ₦150 million ($103,000) to about ₦100 million ($69,000).