A leading solar company, Eauxwell Nigeria Limited, has installed over 120 megawatts-peak (MWp) to lead the country’s quiet clean energy deployment.
Coming as diesel costs erode business margins and grid instability worsens power supply in the country, solar energy is fast becoming an inevitable pillar of the country’s power mix.
Although the sector’s growth is characterised by fragmented regulation, limited local manufacturing, and heavy dependence on private EPCs to fill systemic gaps, Eauxwell has been ranked as one of the few indigenous firms with the scale, technical depth, and staying power to manage large solar and hybrid projects in the country.
The firm’s recent projects, particularly in Kano, Port Harcourt, and Owerri, demonstrate how the company has evolved from small-scale installations to multi-megawatt, hybridised systems that integrate Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
The Kano Solar Project, at 20 MW hybrid capacity (11.8 MWp solar PV), is among the country’s largest private solar initiatives. Designed to serve a mix of industrial and community consumers, it reflects a growing shift toward decentralised generation models that bypass the unreliable national grid.
Similarly, the Port Harcourt Solar PV Plant (10.8 MWp) and its 16 MWh containerised BESS illustrate the trend of using hybrid systems to stabilise power for industrial clients.
But while these installations indicate scale, they also highlight an uncomfortable truth: Nigeria’s renewable energy growth is being led almost entirely by private EPCs, with little integration into national grid planning or industrial policy.
The projects often emerge out of necessity, not necessarily national strategy, reflecting a pattern of energy improvisation rather than coordinated reform.
Eauxwell’s inclusion of large BESS units, such as the 16 MWh system in Port Harcourt and 15 MWh in Owerri, signals technical sophistication rare in Nigeria’s renewable ecosystem.
However, battery storage remains an underregulated and underfinanced segment. The lack of clear policy frameworks for grid interconnection, recycling, and tariff compensation raises sustainability concerns.
While the use of batteries improves reliability, it also increases project costs and raises questions about long-term maintenance. Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported lithium-ion technology means exposure to forex volatility and global supply chain disruptions. Without a domestic manufacturing base or recycling capacity, the country risks substituting one dependency (diesel) with another (imported solar hardware).
The model of focusing on delivering turnkey hybrid projects demonstrates what is technically possible in the Nigerian context, but not necessarily what is systemically sustainable.
Compared with peers such as EM-ONE Energy Solutions, Auxano Solar, and Havenhill Synergy, Eauxwell’s advantage lies in its scale and ability to handle utility-level projects. EM-ONE’s largest installations, for instance, include a 3.3 MWp microgrid with 2 MWh storage at the University of Abuja and a 2 MWp hybrid system at the Nigerian Defence Academy. These projects target institutional clients, while Eauxwell’s focus is predominantly industrial and community-based.
Yet, this segmentation shows a broader fragmentation in Nigeria’s renewable energy market, each EPC working in isolation, responding to immediate demand rather than an integrated power strategy. The result is a patchwork of off-grid systems that reduce diesel dependence but do little to strengthen the national grid.
In effect, Nigeria is witnessing parallel energy systems where a public grid is struggling to deliver less than 4,000 MW on most days, and a growing private solar network operates beyond regulatory oversight.
While Eauxwell and its peers are thriving in this vacuum, state-led coordination will improve scalability and grid impact.
Despite Eauxwell’s technical capacity, local content in Nigeria’s solar EPC sector must improve, as most panels, inverters, and batteries are imported, while local labour often covers only installation and maintenance.
Indigenous manufacturers like Auxano Solar, which assemble panels locally, are still too small to meet the needs of large EPCs.
This reality challenges the notion of a true “energy transition.” Without domestic industrial participation, Nigeria’s solar boom risks becoming another form of capital flight, where value creation happens abroad, and local jobs remain at the low end of the value chain.
Eauxwell’s nearly four decades of experience suggest institutional maturity, but the sustainability of its operations, like others in the field, ultimately depends on policy reforms that prioritise local manufacturing, standardisation, and energy financing.
