Written by: Fatma Younes
Residents of the Talasse area and other communities in the Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State have regained access to electricity after a total blackout that lasted for 17 years. This came with the official inauguration of a one-megawatt solar mini-grid, supported by a 2.4-megawatt-hour battery storage system.
This project, which was carried out in collaboration between the Rural Electrification Agency, the Gombe State Government, and a private developer, aims to radically transform economic activities in the region by providing energy to homes, farms, markets, and small businesses, as the project serves thousands of residential and commercial connections.
Production Facilities and Economic Empowerment
The new facility in Talasse includes electrically-powered peanut oil processing, rice milling, and flour milling facilities, in addition to providing electric tricycles. This intervention represents a step beyond just lighting homes, focusing on enhancing productive activities and improving the daily livelihoods of the residents and meeting the needs of farmers and traders.
This opening comes as a preliminary step within a broader 16-megawatt solar program, which covers interconnected mini-grids in the communities of Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo, and Kaltungo, which enhances efforts to expand stable electricity supplies across the state.
Government Strategy for Renewable Energy Sector Development
Officials emphasized that the real value of these investments lies in their ability to stimulate economic activity and meet the daily needs of the residents, reduce reliance on costly private generators, as well as strengthen public services and provide an environment conducive to business growth and local community development.
These projects are being implemented under the umbrella of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up program, which seeks to enhance access to electricity through diverse solutions including the development of mini-grids, home solar systems, and solutions tailored to markets and agricultural clusters.
