The Nigerian Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, speaking at the concluded BETD2022, stated the Nigerian government’s commitment to transition from fossil fuels to gas and other renewable sources of energy to achieve Vision 2030.
Mr Aliyu said the government’s vision 30:30:30 would help fix the provisional capacity of 30% of energy generation from renewables.
The Nigerian minister said this during an opening panel session on turning words into action at the 2-day Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2022 that was held at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin as an international forum for energy sector stakeholders.
In its 30:30:30 vision, the Nigerian government set three key ambitious targets for its electricity sector. It includes access to electricity for all, a 30% share of renewable energy, and other climate emissions targets.
Speaking to the Nigerian government’s energy transition strategy plan, he said, “Accelerating the energy transition means differently, from country to country. Generally I believe in phasing out carbon generation in the general supply of electricity”.
“In my country, Nigeria, the way we are approaching it is that we have serious challenges with our national grid. The national grid can only meet up with 60% of the demand of electricity in Nigeria. So the low supply is supplemented with small generators, firewood and things like that which contribute to carbon emission.”
The Minister of Power said government’s approach is to strengthen the country’s grid to improve its operational capacity.
“Alongside this, we are also developing renewable energy, but the grid must be strong enough to carry that,” he added.
According to the minister, Nigeria has projects in renewable energy to provide 700 megawatts of solar and hydroelectricity and they are over 90% complete.
“We have 40 megawatts of hydro, which is already completed. We have another one which is 40 megawatts among other smaller ones spread across the country. All these can come to the grid only when it’s strong enough to carry all mixes.”
The minister called for increased support for energy transition in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. He pointed out that emission is higher in developed countries who have benefitted from fossil fuel gains and these countries should support developing economies in their transitioning agenda.
“We must not forget the fact that countries differ in the emission of carbon. The richer countries emit more carbon and they have enjoyed it for two centuries. For instance, in my country, the emission is small compared to other countries. So the rich countries should look at the smaller countries to provide support for them as they face many challenges, including insecurity, hunger, and so many other things which can affect their transition to cleaner energy sources.”
He further said, “the fossil fuels we are trying to out-phase is the source of income of some of these countries. In my country, 80% of our generation comes from that and only 20% from renewables.
“The pathway that we are adopting towards 2060 net-zero will require $400 million dollars. Where will this come from if we don’t get support from bigger countries?” he ended.
Despite the billions of dollars spent in the energy sector, Nigeria has been unable to provide its growing population with a reliable power supply. About 80% of the population still don’t have access to on-grid electricity.
4 out of 5 people with a grid connection still rely on expensive petrol and diesel generators to provide their own electricity.