By Chibuzor Alii
The Federal Government has commissioned a 3MW solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University in Abuja, formerly the University of Abuja, as part of efforts to improve electricity supply for teaching, research and other essential campus activities.
The project was delivered under Phase II of the Energising Education Programme and was commissioned on Wednesday by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, in partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project.
The minister, who described the university as his alma mater, said the project showed how investment in energy could support human capital development.
“There is perhaps no better place to demonstrate the practical value of Nigeria’s energy transition than a university. A university brings together everything that a modern energy system is expected to support: learning, research, healthcare, technology, administration and, increasingly, the digital infrastructure through which knowledge is created and shared
“This facility combines a 3.3 megawatt solar array with 3 megawatts of AC output capacity and 2 megawatt hours of battery storage to support critical loads after solar hours,” he said.
Solar project to expand across university campus
Tegbe said the newly commissioned facility was the start of further efforts to extend reliable electricity to other parts of the university.
He said the government was responding to a request from the Student Union Government for power to be extended to student hostels and other areas of the campus.
“Your Vice-Chancellor has come to see me on this, and we’re looking into it. I will make sure that in the next six months, every other area will be covered.”
The minister said the project would also improve lighting and security around the university through the installation of 388 streetlights.
He urged students and staff to protect the infrastructure from vandalism, saying the government was working with security agencies to protect national assets.
“We set up a joint working committee with EFCC, with the police, with the civil defence corps, to monitor our national assets. You will not believe how many towers vandals pull down. There are big vandals all over the country,” he said.
Energising Education Programme reaches 22 universities
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abba Aliyu, said the Energising Education Programme had provided renewable energy infrastructure to 22 federal universities and three affiliated teaching hospitals.
More than 100MW of clean energy has been deployed through the programme, he said.
“When the Energising Education Programme was conceived, the ambition was straightforward: to change what reliable electricity could mean for Nigeria’s public universities. Not simply to put solar panels on campuses, but to create the conditions for students to learn, lecturers to teach, researchers to work, laboratories to function and universities to operate with greater certainty,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu encouraged Yakubu Gowon University to use the new facility as a platform for research and practical training in renewable energy and related technologies.
He specifically identified battery storage, grid integration, smart metering and energy management as areas where the project could support research.
University highlights importance of reliable electricity
The Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, described the project as an important investment in the institution’s academic objectives.
“A university such as ours cannot teach effectively, conduct meaningful research, operate its laboratories, sustain digital services or even provide the conducive environment required for learning and innovation without dependable power supply,” he said.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, also stressed the importance of dependable electricity to the education sector and called for continued government investment.
The project includes a Renewable Energy Workshop and Training Centre, as well as a female STEM component, alongside the solar generation, battery storage and campus lighting infrastructure.
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