Nigeria has built Africa's first Renewable Energy College, placing technical skills at the centre of its clean energy ambitions and offering a new model for workforce development on the continent.
The Barefoot Renewable Energy College, Osara (BARECKS), was commissioned alongside the Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant on Tuesday at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Kogi State. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the ceremony.
The achievement addresses a problem that has long shaped Africa's energy transition. While many countries possess abundant renewable resources, far fewer have the trained technicians needed to install, operate and maintain the technologies that make those resources useful.
That challenge is especially familiar in Nigeria as the country enjoys vast reserves of sunlight, wind, biomass and water, yet turning those natural advantages into electricity, employment and industrial activity has remained difficult. BARECKS was established to narrow that skills gap through practical, vocational training rather than conventional classroom instruction alone.
The college will train technicians, installers, operators and maintenance professionals in renewable energy technologies, while serving as a platform for research and innovation. Its curriculum takes inspiration from India's internationally recognised Barefoot model, where women with little or no formal education were trained as solar engineers and helped electrify rural communities.
Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described the institution as a first for Africa and said it was modelled after India's celebrated Barefoot vocational colleges.
"This is the first institution of its kind on the African continent, modelled on the celebrated vocational colleges of India that turned unlettered grandmothers into solar engineers," the President said.
The President said the same model that transformed rural communities in India could equally help expand access to clean energy across Nigeria.
"If that method could light the villages of Rajasthan, it can light the settlements of Kogi, Ondo and Cross River. Nigeria assumes, from today, the position of pacesetter in renewable energy capacity development across Africa," he said.
The project also addresses a key issue across the continent. Ambition has rarely been the obstacle; the shortage has been people equipped with the technical expertise to turn plans into functioning systems.
"Our continent has never suffered a deficit of intention. We have suffered the scarcity of hands trained to execute them," the President said.
The college reached completion within two years of its groundbreaking, a delivery timeline that stands out for a public infrastructure project of its scale.
Recalling the groundbreaking ceremony held two years ago, the President said the pace of delivery demonstrated what determined execution could achieve.
"Two years ago, we stood on this ground for the groundbreaking of this institution, with red earth underfoot and the ambition of a few determined Nigerians for company. Today, we stand before a world-class edifice, completed to international standards," he said.
The commissioning also included a call for development partners, research institutions, private-sector organisations and international bodies to collaborate with the college in expanding technical training, renewable energy research and innovation.
Its opening comes as Nigeria pursues the objectives set out in its Energy Transition Plan (ETP), which charts a path towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2060. Progress has been slower in some areas, particularly rural electrification and the deployment of off-grid solar systems.
According to the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigeria needs at least five million off-grid solar systems to supply electricity to communities that remain unserved or underserved.
The financial landscape is becoming more favourable. Earlier reports showed that clean energy funding flowing to developing countries, including Nigeria, has risen to $21.57 billion. Energy and climate specialists have also argued that stronger policy incentives for large-scale solar projects could unlock an estimated $2.5 billion carbon market opportunity for the country.
International support has followed a similar direction. In September 2025, the European Union announced a €545 million package to expand renewable energy investment across Africa.
The value of BARECKS will ultimately be measured less by its buildings than by the expertise it produces. Every technician trained, every installer certified and every researcher equipped through the institution brings Nigeria closer to converting its renewable energy potential into reliable power, stronger industries and wider economic opportunity.
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