Nigeria small hydropower push puts Ikere Gorge’s 100MW hybrid on course for 2027 close

Nigeria’s federal government, the UK and state governments are seeking private investment in small run-of-river hydropower, presenting a draft National Small Hydropower Policy in Abuja alongside three pilot projects, among them a 100MW solar and hydro hybrid at Ikere Gorge in Oyo State expected to reach financial close by mid-2027.

Nigeria’s draft National Small Hydropower Policy was presented to investors in Abuja on 28 October, alongside a deployment toolkit and a project pipeline, at a roundtable convened under the UK PACT programme to draw private capital into small run-of-river hydropower for rural electrification and industry, with Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe represented by Martin Olajide, Special Adviser to the President on Power.

The largest of the three pilots is Ikere Gorge in Oyo State, a hybrid solar and hydro project of about 100MW backed by the concessionaire Quint Energy with the Oyo State and federal governments, and expected to reach financial close by the end of the second quarter of 2027.

The other two pilots are Gari Dam in Kano State and the rehabilitation of the NESCO hydropower cascade in Plateau State, and the UK-backed work across all three has covered feasibility studies, dam safety, environmental and social safeguards, financial modelling and transaction structuring, implemented by Africa PPP Advisory and Ratio Consulting.

Nigeria’s small hydropower potential is estimated at more than 3,500MW, much of it untapped, and the Rural Electrification Agency has developed about 48 interconnected mini-grids with distribution companies and state governments, most of them solar.

“Our note today is about moving from evidence to action together across the three pilot sites,” said Vicky Seymour, British Deputy High Commissioner. “Our shared success should be measured by the difference the energy transition makes to people’s lives.”