By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) says it is targeting 9 gigawatts, GWs, of electricity from renewable energy by 2030.
Speaking during the Accelerated Renewable Energy and Distributed Energy Summit organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in Abuja, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu advocated for policies that would encourage investors to invest in the renewable sector.
He said, “The first is the reassurance from governments. Investors need reassurance because they have experienced a lot of policy inconsistencies, lack of legislative support in the past that have actually made them lose their investments.
“So, reassurance through supporting legislation and sustainable policy statements that will actually assure investors and sectoral participants that the government is very serious in achieving its renewable energy targets.
The Minister who frown at the current trend of importing solar panels said Nigeria can’t continue to rely on foreign countries to get the equipment necessary for the acceleration of renewable energy access in the country.
According to him, continued importation will not lead to the adoption of renewable energy.
“We cannot continue to import solar panels forever. We expect this to be cheaper than grid supply, but the foreign exchange keeps going up all the time as we import solar panels and batteries.
“Where is the cost advantage? But when these things are locally manufactured and we use local currency to buy them, we will have cost advantages.
“So, we need to establish a local industry to support this renewable energy sector value chain. That way we can have sustainability in this sector,” he said.
On his part, the NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba, said the role of large-scale solar has been challenging for the country.
He said the commission was considering embedded generation using renewables and distributed generation.
“Looking ahead, we are working collaboratively with stakeholders to support the development of a comprehensive national electricity policy and strategic implementation plan under the leadership of the minister.
“This plan will leverage Nigeria’s abundant renewable resources while promoting energy efficiency and sustainability,” Garba said.