The Federal Government has commissioned a 3MW captive solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, formerly the University of Abuja, as part of efforts to provide reliable electricity to federal universities.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the government plans to power all federal universities with solar energy and gradually take them off the national grid.
Tegbe said the initiative would be implemented in phases across the country until universities have dedicated power supply.
“We are going to phase four, and until we cover all the regions and take the universities off-grid and make sure they have a 24/7 power supply,” he said.
The project is expected to provide more reliable electricity for nearly 40,000 students and over 3,500 staff, supporting teaching, research, laboratory activities, digital services and other university operations.
The minister also directed the Rural Electrification Agency to extend the solar connection to the university’s student hostels within six months.
The project was delivered by the REA under Phase II of the Energising Education Programme through the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project.
REA Managing Director and CEO, Abba Aliyu, said the programme had expanded beyond providing electricity infrastructure to supporting education and human capital development.
Across the programme, REA said it has delivered renewable energy infrastructure to 22 federal universities and three affiliated teaching hospitals, deploying more than 100MW of clean energy and reaching over 600,000 students and 50,000 academic and administrative staff.
Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, described the project as critical to the institution’s academic activities, saying dependable electricity was essential for effective teaching, research, laboratory operations and digital services.
The project also includes a Renewable Energy Workshop and Training Centre for practical learning and skills development, as well as a female STEM component aimed at exposing students to renewable energy technologies and opportunities in the sector.
