Energy Worth with Agency Report
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola has reiterated the need for Africa to intensify efforts in improving transmission grid for renewable energy to be effectively developed on the continent.
Fashola stated this during a a two-day conference on Renewable Energy Development, organised by the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CEPEEL ) of the University of Ibadan, the Minister who was represented by the Director of Renewable and Rural Power Access Department in the ministry, Farouk Yusuf, said Nigeria as a committed member of both the United Nation, African Union and ECOWAS has adopted several international treaties and policies which promote the use of renewable energy. This, he said, was in line with the national vision to provide incremental power, and then steady and uninterrupted power.
He also went on to say that the Federal Government recently approved an integrated energy MIX targets under Electricity Vision 30:30:30 which targets generation of 30 GW in year 2030, with 30 per cent from renewable energy sources.
“Africa has trillions standard cubic feet of natural gas reserves, billions of barrels of crude oil reserves and billions of tonnes of coal.
“But Africa has even greater abundance of renewable energy resources. Unfortunately, of the nearly 1.5 billion people estimated to lack electricity supply world over, half live in Africa.
” Nigeria alone is estimated to have over 90 million people living without electricity supply, according to the World Bank,’’ he said.
The minister stated that power generation capacity in the country currently is about 7000 MW, adding that government was making efforts to complete and inaugurate some renewable energy projects, which includes the 10MW Katsina wind farm, 30MW Gurara Hydro Power, 29MW Dadin Kowa Hydro Power and 40MW Kashimbilla Hydro Power.
The minister finanlly disclosed that large projects such as the 3050MW Mambilla Hydro Power and 700MW Zungeru Hydro power initiatives as well as the 14 Solar IPPs were expected to come on stream.
