Solad Accelerates Solar Home System Deployment

Kayode Tokede Solad is rapidly expanding access to Solar Home Systems in underserved regions of Nigeria as the country moves toward increased adoption of distributed renewable energy. The firm has already installed more than 1,800 solar power units across five Nigerian states, with plans to deploy an additional 4,000 units soon.

This initiative complements Solad's broader strategy of providing decentralized energy solutions at multiple levels, ranging from individual homes and small businesses to large-scale mini-grids and commercial solar installations. The Solar Home Systems program operates within the expanding ecosystem created by the Rural Electrification Agency and the World Bank's Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) program, which aims to accelerate renewable electricity access through solar-hybrid mini-grids and standalone solar systems.

Solad's CEO, Yewande Olagbende, emphasizes that Nigeria's energy access challenge cannot be solved by a single technology or infrastructure. Instead, a multi-level approach involving large power infrastructure, mini-grids, and individual solar systems is required. She highlights that Solar Home Systems are particularly valuable because they can be deployed swiftly into communities where grid expansion through conventional methods may take years.

Solad's chief believes that the company's Solar Home Systems program serves as a platform for local enterprise growth, job creation, and long-term customer support. As Nigeria's renewable energy market experiences significant growth, driven by support from the federal government, Rural Electrification Agency, World Bank Group, and other development finance institutions, Solad believes that three key elements will be crucial to its transition: scaling deployments, fostering local operating capabilities, and ensuring reliable long-term customer support.

To achieve this, Solad is investing not only in equipment but also in building teams of technicians, sales, and customer support personnel to operate and maintain systems in the communities where they are installed. Solad's Chairman and Co-founder, Constantine 'Labi Ogunbiyi, acknowledges that Africa's energy transition will be measured by the infrastructure built and the economic activity it enables.

He emphasizes the importance of combining public policy, development capital, and private-sector execution to construct a scalable decentralized energy market. The Head of the Nigeria Electrification Programme at the Rural Electrification Agency, Femi Akinyelure, stresses that the DARES program aims to significantly increase access to reliable and sustainable electricity by enabling private-sector providers to deliver standalone solar and mini-grid solutions to underserved households, businesses, and communities across Nigeria.

The agency's focus is not only on the sheer number of connections delivered but also on ensuring that expanded electricity access supports livelihoods and drives economic growth.