Daily Trust

Nigeria can’t continue to import solar panels – Minister

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has stated that Nigeria can’t continue to rely on foreign countries to get equipment necessary for the accelerati­on of renewable energy in the country.

The minister who spoke during the Accelerate­d Renewable Energy and Distribute­d Energy Summit organised by the Nigerian Electricit­y Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday in Abuja, stated that the continued importatio­n will not lead to the adoption of renewable energy.

“We cannot continue to import solar panels forever. But we expect this to be cheaper than grid supply. The foreign exchange keeps going up all the time and we are importing solar panels and batteries. So 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.

While stating that the government is targeting 9,000 gigawatts of electricit­y from renewable energy by 2030, he called for policies that will encourage investors to invest in the renewable sector.

“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.

“Our hope is that our efforts, including those in this summit, should provide the platform and frameworks necessary towards the achievemen­t of improved energy access, enhanced energy security, and inclusive economic growth for the country,” he said.

On his part, the Chairman of NERC, Usman Garba, said the role of largescale solar has been challengin­g for our country.

He said the commission is 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 added.