Tuesday April 22, 2025
Niamey, Niger
In the Lazaret district of Niamey, Elhadj Abdou inspects the dozen solar panels adorning the roof of his house. It’s a scene that’s becoming less and less rare in the Nigerien capital, where residents are gradually turning to this energy in the face of power cuts.
“Here, there are no more power cuts, and there’s no bill to pay: everything runs on solar energy,” he enthuses.
On Tanimoune Boulevard, Amadou Arzika uses a handkerchief to clean large, dusty photovoltaic panels: “The six here will soon be delivered to a customer”, says this salesman, wearing a backwards cap and a grey T-shirt.
Adamou Barmini, a resident of the capital, is adamant: “the (solar) panels are now being used by everyone because of the power cuts, which can last up to three hours”.
The turning point came in 2023, when an unprecedented energy shortage hit the country.
Neighboring Nigeria had suspended a large part of its electricity exports, as part of regional sanctions to protest regime change.
According to Haoua Amadou, Niger’s Energy Minister, this disruption led to a “30% to 50% deficit” in electricity, forcing the electricity company (Nigelec) to impose load shedding that could last for days on end, especially in the capital.
Nigeria has since resumed deliveries, but “is only providing 46 megawatts instead of the usual 80 megawatts”, laments the Minister.
Despite efforts to boost local production capacity, load shedding persists in Niamey.
Individuals and companies are therefore gradually turning to solar energy, in this Sahelian country which is among the sunniest in the world.
“We can produce solar electricity for ten hours a day,” says engineer Maman Arzika.
“For the past two years, the solar market has been booming (…) demand remains strong”, agrees Djibril Tata, a solar equipment supplier, congratulating himself on his “growing sales”.
“Business is going well”, confirms Hilaire Houndegnon, another supplier, whose sales have “more than doubled”, with 450 solar panels sold in 2024.
According to experts, the advent of long-life lithium batteries and increasingly qualified personnel have fuelled the solar boom.
Most equipment is imported from China and sold on the high street.
This abundance of supply makes equipment more affordable. Prices for solar panels have been halved, dropping below 50,000 CFA francs (75 euros) for the best-quality equipment.
“Even with a small budget, you can power a few light bulbs, a TV and a fan,” explains technician Mahamadou Issa.
Ali Amadou, a fruit seller, has set up a tiny solar panel in an alleyway in the town: “At night I light up, during the day I charge cell phones”. He charges around 100 CFA francs (0.15 euros) for this little sideline.
In the rest of the country, solar energy is also popular for powering pumps used to drill drinking water in remote rural areas.
Solar projects, financed by foreign partners such as the World Bank and Arab humanitarian organizations, also equip schools and hospitals to refrigerate vaccines and medicines.
In 2024, Niger commissioned its very first 30-megawatt solar power plant near Niamey, a project launched before the putsch with support from the European Union.
And this vast Sahelian country, where the electrification rate is less than 20%, has no intention of stopping there.
Solar energy is totally compatible with the sovereignist vision of the ruling junta, which wants to reduce its external dependence.
Several solar projects are therefore on the agenda, including a 19-megawatt project in Agadez (north) and a more ambitious 200-megawatt project currently under study, assures Minister Haoua Amadou.
Niger is also set to benefit from the “Desert to Power” project financed by the African Development Bank.
Niger is also set to benefit from the “Desert to Power” project financed by the African Development Bank (ADB), which aims to make the Sahel the world’s largest solar production zone, with a capacity of 10,000 megawatts.
In the 1980s, Niger had already popularized locally manufactured solar water heaters, dryers and stoves, as well as water pumps and community televisions that were already powered by solar energy, via photovoltaic panels.
But this dream of all-solar power had been abandoned for lack of funding.
Humaniterre with AFP
