Benue State

Rooftop solar in Ushongo, Benue: what the roofs are worth

Ushongo has 153,310 buildings with a viable rooftop and 983 MWp of roof capacity. 4% run a generator, and together they spend ₦6.26bn a year on energy.

Viable buildings

153,310

Usable roof area

4.49 km²

983 MWp roof capacity

Energy spend

₦6.26bn/yr

6.13 GWh/yr burned on generators

Median payback

17.4 yr

Median IRR 5% (cash saved)

The savings bracket for Ushongo

Approach B

Cash saved

What these buildings stop paying — merit order, capped at current spend.

Current energy spend₦6.26bn/yr

Year-one cash saved₦6.26bn

Lifetime cash saved₦344bn

NPV₦46.3bn

Median IRR5%

Median payback17.4 yr

Unlocked energy8.97 GWh/yr

Approach A

Energy value (upper bracket)

What the energy is worth if full latent demand were met. Not cash saved.

Installed capacity65.6 MWp

Capex₦70.1bn

Year-one energy value₦63bn

Lifetime energy value₦3tn

NPV₦506bn

Median IRR91%

Median payback1.1 yr

Three ways to size Ushongo's rooftops

Solar + battery. The default headline scenario, and the one the SEO fact base quotes. Prices the energy a full solar+storage system would deliver.

Baseline: mixed

Counterfactual: grid when available, generator otherwise, weighted by the NTL-derived grid availability. The realistic case, and what the headline numbers use. Always falls between grid and genset by construction.

Read with care: Sized to LATENT demand — the energy the building would use if it could. Against a cash baseline that only reflects today's spend this looks oversized; that is what sc3 exists to fix.

System size: 65.6 MWp
Capital cost: ₦70.1bn
Year 1 savings: ₦63bn/yr
NPV: ₦506bn
Median IRR: 91%
Median payback: 1.1 yr

The odds a rooftop in Ushongo pays back quickly

Of the 148,241 buildings in Ushongo with a modelled payback, 13.2% pay back inside five years and 3.6% inside three.

Create a free account

How much of Ushongo's demand actually gets met

Buildings in Ushongo consume 12.5 GWh/yr but want 21.5 GWh/yr. The 42% they cannot buy is suppressed demand — load that appears the moment supply is reliable.

Create a free account

Electricity billing bands in Ushongo

Loading band economics…

How many rooftops in Ushongo actually pay

Counted building by building on the cash-saved basis (merit-order sized, valued against what the building spends today), not read off an average. Shares are of the 148,241 buildings with a modelled result out of 153,310 in Ushongo. 26,003 clear a positive NPV.

Payback

Under 3 years5,326 (4%)

Under 5 years19,503 (13%)

Under 7 years25,981 (18%)

Under 10 years32,328 (22%)

Return (IRR)

Above 10%31,066 (20%)

Above 15%26,003 (17%)

Above 20%21,297 (14%)

Above 25%15,962 (10%)

CO₂ avoided

12.9 kt/yr

Fuel avoided

2.55 million litres/yr

Energy unlocked

8.97 GWh/yr

Demand that is suppressed today

People served

193k

What hardware costs right now

Median advertised rates from our Nigerian market tracker — the same prices used to cost a system in Ushongo.

Solar panels

₦250

₦/W

Inverters

₦127,419

₦/kVA

Batteries

₦177,500

₦/kWh

Full price tracker Size a home system Size a business system

Building mix in Ushongo

Electricity billing band

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
C	55,623	2,191	₦2.32bn	₦2.32bn	5%	17.4 yr
D	48,409	1,463	₦2.04bn	₦2.04bn	5%	17.6 yr
E	41,556	1,432	₦1.75bn	₦1.75bn	5%	17.9 yr
B	7,722	365	₦142m	₦142m	7%	9.6 yr

Load profile

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
Residential	150,729	3,994	₦2.94bn	₦2.94bn	5%	17.6 yr
Commercial General	864	481	₦779m	₦779m	37%	2.9 yr
Commercial Retail	820	197	₦19.6m	₦19.6m	29%	3.9 yr
Anchor	489	430	₦2.28bn	₦2.28bn	55%	1.9 yr
Worship	280	246	₦124m	₦124m	55%	1.9 yr
Industrial	127	103	₦108m	₦108m	63%	1.6 yr
Hospitality	1	0	₦2.74m	₦2.74m	37%	2.9 yr

Roof size band

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
Under 30m2	112,012	2,439	₦342m	₦342m	3%	18.4 yr
50 100m2	14,466	800	₦437m	₦437m	19%	5.4 yr
30 50m2	13,782	589	₦128m	₦128m	7%	14.6 yr
100 250m2	10,689	1,091	₦1.72bn	₦1.72bn	25%	4.1 yr
250 1000m2	2,247	485	₦2.15bn	₦2.15bn	27%	4.1 yr
Over 1000m2	114	47	₦1.49bn	₦1.49bn	27%	4.1 yr

Settlement type

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
Urban	81,421	3,345	₦4.07bn	₦4.07bn	5%	17.1 yr
Unclassified	57,037	1,323	₦1.67bn	₦1.67bn	3%	18.4 yr
Dense Urban	12,607	727	₦451m	₦451m	7%	9.4 yr
Rural	2,245	56	₦63.1m	₦63.1m	5%	18.1 yr

Building type

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
Shed	115,957	2,058	₦305m	₦305m	3%	18.4 yr
Residential Small	17,155	786	₦376m	₦376m	19%	5.6 yr
Residential	15,524	1,127	₦2.25bn	₦2.25bn	23%	4.4 yr
Residential Informal	2,046	20	₦11.8m	₦11.8m	5%	9.4 yr
Kiosk Shop	820	197	₦19.6m	₦19.6m	29%	3.9 yr
Institutional	499	433	₦1.98bn	₦1.98bn	53%	1.9 yr
Commercial Corridor	392	89	₦137m	₦137m	35%	3.1 yr
Educational Facility	163	147	₦283m	₦283m	81%	1.4 yr
Industrial Site	127	103	₦108m	₦108m	63%	1.6 yr
Worship Center	122	107	₦45.6m	₦45.6m	57%	1.9 yr
Healthcare Facility	115	97	₦466m	₦466m	49%	2.1 yr
School	97	86	₦139m	₦139m	79%	1.4 yr

Land use

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)
(Unset)	153,309	5,451	₦6.26bn	₦6.26bn
Farmland	1	0	₦1.39k	₦1.39k

Not published for this cube: Median IRR, Median payback.

Lead segment

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)	Median IRR	Median payback
Standard	152,283	4,822	₦3.72bn	₦3.72bn	5%	17.6 yr
Enterprise	616	533	₦2.39bn	₦2.39bn	61%	1.9 yr
SME High	411	96	₦144m	₦144m	35%	3.1 yr

Demand tier

Segment	Buildings	With generator	Spend ₦/yr	Cash saved yr 1 (B)
0.0	116,060	2,111	₦310m	₦310m
1.0	17,744	1,238	₦389m	₦389m
2.0	15,569	1,418	₦2.03bn	₦2.03bn
3.0	3,442	642	₦3.38bn	₦3.38bn
4.0	338	41	₦116m	₦116m
5.0	145	1	₦28m	₦28m
6.0	12	0	₦6.62m	₦6.62m