Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has said Nigeria is committed to achieving 30 gigawatts of electricity by 2030 from multiple sources, of which, at least, 30 per cent contribution would come from renewable energy.
He disclosed this yesterday at the ninth Nigeria Energy Exhibition and Conference in Lagos.
Aliyu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Temitope Fashedemi, added that the country was also poised to attain a net zero commission by 2060 through the recently-launched transition plan.
He said energy was conventionally one of the most important infrastructure requirements for human existence and modern living besides being one of the most important components of economic development.
According to him, energy remains essential for human existence, and socio-economic development, as access to energy, especially electricity, enhances the standard of living of the citizenry, hence it is factored in the measurement of the human development index.
The minister said the unique event provides participants with opportunities to engage with private and public sector players and also “allows us to share knowledge with international energy experts, with a view to developing solutions and even forging partnerships that seek to tackle the various issues and challenges that are preventing us from achieving our desired goals in the energy sector.”
He noted this is not surprising, adding that capital energy utilisation of electricity is indicative of any nation’s level of development.
Aliyu continued: “We are all aware that Nigeria’s economic development aspiration demands a higher energy capacity than what we have available presently. Our current unmet energy needs are huge and they are bound to increase due to urbanisation and population expansion. This makes it clear that access to energy is critical in advancing our country’s development agenda.”
Consequently, he said an enabling policy engendering targeted infrastructure development, innovative financing options and investment in modern energy technologies is required.
“I strongly believe that the answer to achieving this is through collaboration as vividly captured in our energy policies. The much-needed finance required in the provision of energy access resides with the private sector and the task of living in finance through the right policies, incentives and establishment of an investment-friendly environment is what the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to achieving,” he added.
Exhibition Manager, Energy Portfolio, Middle East and Africa, Informa Markets, Ade Yesufu, said the Nigerian government has continued to seek ways for improving the electricity supply.
He said some of the efforts include the recent launch of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, the first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa, articulating the need for an investment of $10 billion yearly up to 2060 to achieve net-zero emissions and the significance of international partnerships in making the project a reality.
Yesufu submitted that the partnership between the Federal Government and the German energy firm, Siemens – under the Presidential Power Initiative, Electricity Bill would improve the utilisation of generated power through increased investments in new technologies to enhance transmission and distribution of generated power to minimise aggregate value chain losses.
