REEEA-A Conference: FGN is focused on Renewable Energy, says Engr. Abubakar Aliyu
Oru Leonard
The Honourable Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar Aliyu who was the Special Guest of Honour at the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations Alliance maiden national conference with the theme: “Optimising opportunities in Energy transition value chain”, held at the Ladi Kwali hall, Sheraton hotel in Abuja on Tuesday while delivering a keynote speech and declaring the conference open stated that the federal government has seen reasons why it should focus on renewable energy stating that it is a source of energy that is clean and most reliable more that Nigeria is blessed with it’s sources and raw materials which in turn makes it cheaper.
Engr. Abubakar further disclosed that in few years from now, at least 60% of cars in Nigeria wouldn’t be fuel consuming cars, they would be either electric cars or solar powered cars.
Earlier, Prof Abubakar S Sambo, OON, NPOM Faculty of Engineering & Environmental Design Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto who is the Chairman Of Board Of Trustees Of The Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency Associations Alliance (REEEA-A), said, Nigeria is very well endowed with renewable energy resources and opportunities for tapping into them for the benefit of Nigerians are great.
Speaking further, “Assessing the three RE resources of solar, wind and hydro it can be shown that: For solar energy, using the commonly available 300 Wp solar panels with about 15% efficiency over 1% of the land area of Nigeria with an average 6 hours of sunshine and an average irradiation of 500 Watts per square metre can produce the following power output:551,000 MW at 100% Capacity Factor 275,500 MW at 50% Capacity Factor 37,750 MW at 25% Capacity Factor Likewise, wind turbine generators of the Fuhrlander design (250kWp) used over 1% of Nigeria’s land with an average wind speed of 6 metres per second can produce the following power outputs:218,365 MW at 100% Capacity Factor90,985.5 MW at 50% Capacity Factor30,328.5 MW at 25% Capacity FactorFor hydropower, it is possible that a total of about 20,000 MW can be obtained from both small and large hydropower plants in various parts of the country.
“Taking the electricity supply situation of the country, the current efforts of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) are quite noteworthy and commendable. Power supply of about 5,000 MW for the current population of about 213 million comes to an average annual electricity consumption per capita of 190 kWh. The figure for sub-Saharan Africa is about 500 kWh while for the world it is about 3,000 kWh. For Nigeria to be at the sub-Saharan Africa’s consumption the power supply should be at about 12,000 MW and for it to be at the world average annual electricity consumption per capita figure the nation’s power supply should be about 73,000 MW.
“Focus will be made on energy transition and the opportunities it has for humanity not only in the context of global climate change considerations but also on the supply of modern energy services for peace and prosperity of Nigerians.
Giving a brief history of the REEEA-A, he said, ” the Association, which came into being in February 2021 and which has the overall aim of promoting quality service and marketing Renewable Energy and Energy efficiency in Nigeria, currently has the following seven members:Association of Energy Engineers of Nigeria (AEEN)Crenstar for Renewable Energy Initiative (CREN)Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN)Renewable and Alternative Energy Society of Nigeria (RAESON)Sustainable Energy Practitioners Association of Nigeria (SEPAN)Solar Energy Society of Nigeria (SESN) andWomen in Renewable Energy Association (WREA). The Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, presented at the November 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference, stated that Nigeria will attain Net Zero carbon emission by 2060 through more use of gas and solar energy for power supply, enhanced penetration of Liquified Petroleum Gas for cooking in the household and services sectors and through laying a solid foundation for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Compressed Natural Gas conversion in the transport sector”.
Similarly, the Steering Committee chairman of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations Alliance, REEEA-A, Dr. Imammudeen Talba while giving a welcome address disclosed that the Alliance is a product of bilateral arrangement between the identified Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations and the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP II), a technical assistance Programme co-funded by the European Union and the German Government; implemented by the GIZ in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power.
In his words, “the parties realized that the vast landscape of RE/EE Associations and organizations provides a lot of opportunities for collaboration to push forward effectively the national agenda in the RE/EE sector. Besides NESP, the REEEA – Alliance is also supported through the ‘Chamber and Associations Partnership Program’ which is financed by the Federal German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
“Under this partnership project the German Solar Industry Association, BSW-Solar, based in Berlin supports the newly founded REEEA-Alliance to develop into a strong, independent, and sustainable organization. The Alliance came into being on the 25th September, 2020, as the umbrella body for the private sector organizations in RE/EE, with mission to spearhead the RE/EE sector, in research, policy and regulatory support and analysis, capacity building and interest representation both within and outside Nigeria”.
He continued, “the current members of the Alliance are : the Association of Energy Engineers of Nigeria (AEE), CRENSTAR Renewable Energy Initiatives of Nigeria (CREN) the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Renewable and Alternative Energy Society of Nigeria (RAESON), Sustainable Energy Practitioners Associations of Nigeria (SEPAN), Solar Energy Society of Nigeria (SESN) and Women in Renewable Energy Association ( WIRE – A). The priority areas for intervention of the Alliance inter alia include:ENERGY – to deliberately promote the generation, dissemination and use of renewable energy sources in order to increase access to energy, reduce GHG emission and reduce energy poverty ;CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION – to support Energy Transition in Nigeria, improve on the statistical data base in the fields of RE/EE in order to contribute to the national climate gas mitigation strategies;Inclusion – to involve youth and women in decision making processes across the sector and ensure their empowerment with concrete measures especially for women in rural areas; and To address the age-long data gaps by building consensus and strategies with national and international agencies and other relevant stakeholders to create credible, reliable and facts proven data repository in RE/EE sector in Nigeria.
“Energy Transition is a process of moving from fossil fuel (less ideal) to a cleaner sources of energy (the ideal) for the purpose of environmental sustainability. Renewable Energy plays a key role in global climate change goal of 1,5*C scenario, which was aim for Carbon neutrality by 2050 (Nigeria 2060), with its share of the world’s total primary energy supply growing from 14% in 2018 to 74% by 2050.
“Naturally, Energy Efficiency also plays an important role in stabilising primary supply during the Transition. RE/EE need to be properly and transparently captured in the NDC; and targets set need to be aligned with national energy plans . As much as possible a mismatch should be avoided in national laws, policies and official strategies and plans . The Theme of this event is apt and timely because there is no better time to address Energy Transition in Nigeria than now, taking cognisance of the transformation taking place in the sector, especially the coming into being of the Climate Change Act, the Energy Transition Policy, and other Bills before the legislature; Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Bill, the Energy Commissiom Amendment Bill and the Electric Power Sector Reform Amendment Bill”.
Individuals at the event and Organizations represented are: the Chairman Senate Committee on Power, H.E. Distinguished Senator Gabriel Suswan, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Power Hon Patrick Ikhariale; Hon. Minister of State Power Hon Goddy Jedy-Agba; Hon. Minister of State Environment Chief Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, representative of E. U Inga Stefanowicz, H.E. Mr. Martins Huth the Deputy Ambassador of Germany ; Chairman (NERC) Dr Sanusi Garba; Mr. Christian Monke Programme Manager ( BSW), NESP, BSW, BoI, Ministry of Power, NERC, REA. SON, NEMSA and others.
