NEWS

Sun King, the world’s leading off-grid solar company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Government of Nigeria to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy access, local manufacturing, and data-driven innovation.

The agreement, signed during REA’s Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) in Abuja, was witnessed by the Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Kashim Shettima, and Sun King’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, T. Patrick Walsh, marking a new phase of collaboration between the public and private sectors in accelerating Nigeria’s clean energy transition.

he new MOU between Sun King and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) lays out three core areas of collaboration designed to accelerate Nigeria’s renewable energy transition and deepen local participation in the sector: supporting the Nigeria First agenda with local assembly of select high-value products, technical cooperation through the sharing of data and knowledge to improve efficiencies and grow the sector, and joint advocacy to raise the visibility of standalone solar as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s energy strategy.

First, on manufacturing and local value creation, Sun King and REA will work together to advance the Government’s Nigeria First policy by increasing local participation in the renewable energy value chain. This includes exploring the domestic assembly of select solar energy and energy-efficient appliances, creating new manufacturing and supply-chain jobs, and ensuring Nigerians capture a larger share of value from the country’s growing clean energy sector.

Second, the partnership also prioritises deeper technical collaboration and knowledge sharing between Sun King and REA. Both parties will work to enhance data collection, market intelligence, and analytical insights to improve operational efficiency, expand the reach of energy access programs, such as the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES), and identify gaps in skills and infrastructure. This cooperation will help accelerate the sector’s maturity and improve the design of future energy access interventions. These initiatives build on Nigeria’s successful track record with renewable energy subsidy schemes and align with Mission 300, the global drive to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.

Finally, the MOU commits both organisations to joint advocacy aimed at raising the visibility of standalone solar as a vital pillar of Nigeria’s energy strategy. Together, REA and Sun King will highlight the social and economic impact of off-grid solar — its role in powering homes, schools, and small enterprises — and advocate for policies and financing mechanisms that accelerate its scale-up. This collaboration will help align public and private narratives around Nigeria’s energy future and reinforce solar as a key driver of inclusive growth.