Minister Declares Open Summit On Accelerating Renewable And Distributed Energy Growth
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has declared opened the Summit on Accelerating Scale-up of Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources in Nigeria.
At the opening ceremony of the two-day summit in Abuja, Chief Adelabu commended the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for partnering with key stakeholders to hold the summit when such discussion was needed most.
“In a special way, I want to commend the regulator (NERC) – the Chairman and his Commissioners for putting up this summit. This summit is an important step and in full alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Presidential Priorities highlighted in the Renewed Hope Agenda to develop a sustainable energy sector for the country,” said Adelabu.
“It is expected that intellectual dis
course, such as this summit we are gathered here today, will highlight and expose the strategies, regulations and bankable financing arrangements that can be leveraged to deliver our target 30 gigawatts (GW) of power supply capacity by 2030 of which 30% are from Renewable Energy.”
NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba, said NERC has regulatory frameworks that allow investors to take advantage of the opportunities in renewable and distributed energy generation. In this regard, the summit is expected to gain from the various experiences of stakeholders to deliver on the objectives of promoting renewable energy sustainably.
“Nigeria’s quest for accelerated scale-up of distributed and renewable energy is not without challenges. However, we hope that our efforts and deliberations in this summit will provide a platform for the electricity framework to promote energy access, enhance energy security, inclusive growth and accelerated access to electricity,” said Garba.
The NERC Chairman appreciated partners and organisations for their efforts in organizing the summit noting that output would be harmonized to effectively drive actions to promote the expansion of renewable and distributed energy access in Nigeria.
In a presentation on NERC's Role in Promoting Renewable Energy in Nigeria, the Commissioner, Planning, Research and Strategy (PRS) Division at NERC, Dr. Yusuf Ali, said NERC the Electricity Act 2023 enables NERC to promote all forms of Renewable Energy (RE) through regulation and licensing. NERC also uses Regulations to bring provisions of the law and policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria into life.
Giving an instance on this, Dr Ali noted that the April 2024 Supplementary Order to MYTO 2024 “requires DisCos to procure a minimum of 10% of its 2024 load allocation from Embedded generation. A minimum of 50% of the embedded generation capacity must be sourced from RE sources.”
The Commissioner also revealed that Nigeria’s mini grid regulation by NERC is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
Representative of the European Union (EU) delegation, Godfrey Ogbemudia, said the EU has partnered with Nigeria to promote renewable energy since 2008 and has put 200 million Euros in grants up until 2020. Ogbemudia said by 2021, the EU renewed its ability to fund renewable energy with 100 million euros to fund some 400 renewable energy projects that will benefit five million Nigerians and reduce carbon emissions. “Let me commend NERC for taking bold steps and being innovative to promote renewable energy in Nigeria,” said Ogbemudia.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Enyinnaya Abaribe, represented by Senator Anthony Ani, tasked stakeholders to work to promote the integration of renewable energy in the national grid as enshrined in the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended) and other legislations made by NERC.
“It is my sincere hope that this summit will achieve the desired objectives just as we reinstate our commitment and our unwavering legislative support,” Senator Ani stated.
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