Nigeria requires $4bn yearly for renewable energy

Nigeria’s power sector requires about $4bn annually to access clean and sustainable renewable energy for power users across the country, the Federal Government has said.

Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, said this at a virtual global power conference of the United Nations, which had the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in attendance.

Jedy-Agba told participants at the virtual conference that financing had been a major constraint to renewable energy development in Nigeria.

He noted that the Federal Government had identified areas of conflicts such as accountability, transparency and technical capacity.

In addressing this, the minister said the government had gone a long way in solving the challenges but stressed that accessing funds to boost the sector had not been simple.

Jedy-Agba, however, stated that the government was desirous of ensuring the provision of adequate supply of electricity to consumers.

He said “Our ambition is demonstrated by the recent removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria, which now makes the off-grid sector more competitive.

“We also have the five million solar connections programme which was included in the COVID-19 recovery strategy.”