Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, the Minister of State for Power, reaffirmed Wednesday the government's commitment to meeting a goal of universal access to sustainable energy by 2030.
At the 7th Nigeria Energy Forum, NEF, 2022, which was held in Lagos under the banner of "Energizing Economic Growth and Sustainability," the Minister provided the guarantee.
The Minister was represented by Mr. Gabriel Lorsase, his Special Technical Assistant, who stated that the country has a sustainable electrical vision of achieving 30 GigaWatts (GW) of electricity by 2030 with 30% renewable energy.
According to the minister, “we are in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) under the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) funded by European Union conceived and developed the Nigeria renewable vision platform. This is to serve as a hub for data-driven electrification planning and implementation.
The project's goal is to increase energy access while enabling and encouraging investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and data-driven electrification planning and implementation. A plan for electrification implementation agreement has also been reached between the federal government and Siemens. The strategy aims to address current power sector issues and increase capacity to meet the nation's projected future demand for electricity.
“The Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) in Phase one seeks to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission and distribution systems of the power sector.
“Nigeria is ready because there is a clear policy on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our Renewable Energy Action Plan has put that in place, so, we can say that Nigeria is ready for renewable energy and some projects have already been embarked upon, which are providing clean energy to Nigerians.”
James Christoff, the high commissioner for Canada, stated that his nation was willing to expand its existing bilateral collaboration with Nigeria in the power industry.
Christoff, speaking on behalf of Canada and the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Teshome Nkrumah, stated that Canada would help Nigeria restructure its power sector. Nigeria must first establish a supportive environment where financial incentives are in line with objectives. Our objectives must take into account larger commitments about issues like the environment, unemployment, and economic growth.
“It will take this kind of sustained, collaborative and broad-based effort from us to build a cleaner, greener future that improves lives and livelihoods. Along those lines, I commend the Nigerian government on the implementation of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Action Agenda in support of SDG 7, which seeks to see renewable energy contribute 30 per cent to the available energy mix by 2030.
“The prospects of clean energy leapfrogging conventional sources are certainly within reach for Nigeria, particularly in light of rising diesel costs, and partly due to the increased market penetration of renewable energy solutions. This includes solar home systems, isolated and interconnected mini-grids, captive solar solutions for commercial and industrial customers, and more. With an estimated 85 million Nigerians without access to grid electricity, representing 43 per cent of the country’s population, the opportunities for off-grid renewable energy are immense.”