Scaling the Adoption of Solar Technology in Nigeria A Demand Led Approach

Significant investments over more than a decade to promote the adoption of renewable technology solutions in Nigeria have been of limited results. But a shift of emphasis, from the current largely top-down, policy-led approach to focusing more on the dynamics of consumer demand and choice, offers a lens through which opportunities to increase adoption at scale can be identified. A useful case study is the recent increase in off-grid self-generation using solar by residential and commercial customers. Here, consumers are substituting their use of petrol and diesel generators more as a result of economic drivers that affect cost, and such non-economic drivers as reliability, rather than on any particular interest in the broader energy transition or imperatives of climate action. Following interviews with market players and an analysis of the dynamics of the off-grid self-generation market, this study identifies a number of policy recommendations that could increase the momentum of renewable technology adoption and provide lessons for policymakers.