By Bassey Udo
Nigeria will require a budget of about $1.9 trillion to fund its Energy Transition Plan (ETP) up to 2060, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed on Monday.
Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said this in Abuja while declaring open the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF)2022.
”For the sake of emphasis, it is relevant to note that Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) would require funding of about USD1.9 trillion up to 2060,” he said.
The VP said about $410 billion of this amount was above the usual spending, which implies that the country would need to mobilise an additional $10 billion per annum to meet the target.
The realization of this goal, he said, depended on the implementation of the country’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), which was recently launched by the President.
“Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan is a prime example of the needed evolution of policies to deliver both the growth in energy consumption necessary for development and the climate response required for the preservation of our planet.
”Our Energy Transition Plan seeks to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change, and deliver universal energy access (SDG7) by 2030 and net-zero by 2060.
”It is also a bolder articulation of our commitment to sustainability and renewables as earlier proposed in the Electricity Vision 30:30:30, which aims to provide 30 Gigawatts (GW)of electricity by the year 2030 with renewable energy contributing at least 30 per cent to the energy mix,” he said.
The success of universal energy access and carbon neutrality, the VP said, was dependent on effectiveness in crowding in these investments.
Osinbajo said the Federal Government planned to roll out a set of policy measures that would attract financing and investments of up to $10 billion and create scalability of programmes of over $30 billion over the coming decades.
The VP said these policy measures and programmes would be leveraged on to catalyse the Nigerian ETP, specifically on renewable power.
”For instance, we are updating the Mini-Grid Regulation to raise cap for licensing from 1 megawatt (MW) to 5 megawatts (MW); develop the policy for integration of Utility Scale Solar into the Grid,
”With requirement for 10 percent of on-grid power to come from Solar by 2025;
creating a Solar Stabilisation Fund with a target of $100 million to backstop on-grid solar contracts.
”Completing scalable, private sector-driven Renewable Energy Distribution Franchise pilots (all at Financial Close), including Konexca Distribution model 90 million with the Kaduna Distribution Company (DISCo)
”Maiduguri Solar Power Island $40 million; Kano Interconnected Minigrid – 100MW pilot; Securing $1.5 billion in additional financing through the World Bank to expand the Nigerian Electrification Programme.
”And stabilise the on-grid sector through modernising operations of our Grid and further preparing the grid for renewables,” he said.
Osinbajo said that government was also developing innovative data tools, such as the Integrated Energy Planning Tool designed in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the SE4All Central Data Management System (CDMS) Web portal (nigeriase4all.gov.ng).
He said that government was incorporating Solar PV Alternative Power Supply to select Public Buildings and develop the 3D (Distributed, Decarbonised, and Digitalised) 24 Hours Feeder Programme.
The project, he said, would provide uninterrupted power supply to dedicated feeders through a hybrid of grid and renewable power, adding that these efforts should amplify the government’s commitments and signify its readiness for investments.
He called on all stakeholders to work together on strategies and reforms needed to crowd in the investments required for real and impactful projects and progress on the ground.
To reach goals set by the government, he said sufficient capital must be made available in the regions, while the government must do its part to create the enabling environment for these funds.
”As a region, we must scale such efforts and deliver robust and sustainable energy systems for the prosperity of our people. Apart from the cooperation and encourage by the ECOWAS Commission in ensuring the development of enabling policies financing models, private sector participation, and technological applications is important for a clean and sustainable energy future for the ECOWAS region,” he said.
On his part, Ambassador of Spain to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Juan Sell, said there was need to address energy poverty and security, adding that access to finance and technology must be taken into consideration to tackle these issues.
Sell said during the European Union Summit, the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package was launched with the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative as a key component to consolidate the existing investment and to add new ones.
“In the framework of the new world the annual indicative programme 2021 2027 of the EU, we are planning to allocate 600 million Euros of grants funding in the sustainable energy sector in West Africa alone.
”The EU considers equity, and I quote from the message that I have been asked to convey as a key partner in the domain of sustainable energy and has the wish and the vision for a close cooperation in the future,” he said.
Earlier, President of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, said the adoption of original policies on renewable energy and energy sufficiency by the Heads of State and Government in July 2013 mandated the region to achieve energy target by 2020 and 2030.
Touray who was represented by ECOWAS, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka, said the forum would afford them the opportunity to ask the region and stakeholders to take stock of progress to date.
The Commission, he said, aimed to increase the renewable energy policy in the region to overall electricity mix to 48 pe cent by 2030 and other policies related to energy efficiency.
He said that ECOWAS was also implementing measures that would add 2000 megawatts of power generation capacity, and in the medium term more than double the annual improvement of energy efficiency.
Doula said to date, only half of ECOWAS citizens have access to modern energy services and were constantly deprived of the full benefit of electricity for sustainable development.
If the issue of electricity was not addressed, he said this would hinder the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. (NAN)
