Nigeria has crossed an unprecedented step in the development of its renewable energies with the award of its very first solar photovoltaic power plant project floating. The contract was awarded by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the public agency in charge of off-grid electrification projects and institutional, marking a diversification of the energy solutions of country.

According to an announcement made on January 23 by the Nigerian subsidiary of the China Civil Engineering group Construction Corporation (CCECC), awarded the contract, the power plant will display an installed capacity of 7 MW. The project will be deployed on the surrounding water body the campus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), in south-western Nigeria.

“This project iconic will provide reliable, safe, stable and clean electricity to one of the main academic institutions in Nigeria. Once completed, it will become the very first floating solar power plant in the country,” said CCECC on his X account, however, no details have been released at this stage. on the overall cost, financing arrangements or the precise timetable of commissioning.

This initiative intervenes in a structurally constrained energy context. The system Nigerian electricity remains largely dominated by fossil fuels and faces recurrent access and reliability difficulties. According to data from the Nigeria System Operator and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the country has around 14,000 MW of installed capacity, but actually produces only 4,000 to 6,000 MW.

At the same time, access electricity is still limited for a large part of the population. According to the World Bank, only 61.2% of Nigerians had access to electricity in 2023, forcing many households and businesses to use generators private individuals to meet their energy needs.

In this context, the solar photovoltaic is progressing gradually, although its contribution to The national electricity mix remains modest. According to the Africa Solar Industry Association, Nigeria added 63.5 MW of solar capacity in 2024, bringing the cumulative capacity at around 385.7 MW. This dynamic is confirmed by data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which shows an increase in 17.29% of solar panel imports in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

With this pilot project of floating solar power plant, Nigeria is thus exploring new solutions technologies to strengthen its energy supply, reduce the pressure on land-based infrastructure and accelerating the transition to energy sources cleaner and more sustainable.