Kowatek Solar LTD, a solar and storage company based in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, has described a framework by Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency for the annual offtake of 200 megawatts of locally manufactured solar photovoltaic modules and 200 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage products as a step toward domestic manufacturing and a smaller import bill.
The agency’s framework links local module and storage purchases to a wider pattern of growing panel imports across Africa. Data reported in early September 2026 showed that solar-panel imports into 15 African countries passed $400 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with about $650 million for all of 2025. Households and businesses continue to purchase alternative power because grid supply remains unreliable.
Nigeria is still among the countries with the largest electricity-access gaps on the continent. The agency’s leadership has pointed to more than 85 million people, roughly 40 percent of the population, who lack reliable grid electricity.
Manufacturing commitment and conditions#
The arrangement was presented as the first commitment by a Tier-One Chinese renewable company to set up manufacturing and assembly operations in Nigeria.
Delivery of the plan still depends on:
- factory commissioning
- quality certification
- foreign-exchange availability
- whether public offtake is firm enough for lenders
System design considerations#
Where a module is made does not remove the need for system design. Commercial and industrial projects still need a load audit, correctly matched inverters and batteries, and a maintenance plan.
For estates, hotels, clinics and factories looking to move away from diesel, the relevant measure is the cost of each reliable kilowatt-hour delivered, rather than the listed price of a panel. Kowatek Solar advises clients to treat local assembly as one supply option within engineered hybrid designs.
