Stakeholders ask FG to articulate strategy towards achieving vision 30:30:30
Oredola Adeola
Stakeholders have challenged the Nigerian Government to be more strategic in the country’s plan to attain 30 GigaWatts (GWs) sustainable electricity vision by 2030, insisting that the 30 percent renewable energy target will be achievable if the framework is well articulated and acceptable to all.
EnergyDay gathered that the Nigerian government recently developed the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy with the accompanying Vision 30:30:30 which aims at achieving 30,000MW of electricity by the year 2030 with renewable energy contributing 30 percent of the energy mix.
Dr Layi Fatona, Managing Director, Niger Delta Exploration Limited, (NDEL) made this known at the Renewable Energy Stakeholders Conference organised by the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to him, that the energy demand in Nigeria is expected to hit triple growth by the year 2030.
Fatona said that the demand for energy is on the increase in Africa, with specific focus on the sub-Saharan Africa where about 54 percent of the people are living without electricity and other basic amenities.
He said, “The Energy transition plan launched a few weeks ago by the Federal Government is a testament of the growing demand of energy in the country.
As Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is growing at 2.7% a year, which is more than twice as fast as South Asia (1.2%) and Latin America (0.9%), Dr. Fatona warned that the right policies and strategies are needed to address the energy needs of the people.
He said, “ The ETP if fully implemented will see the growth of energy in Nigeria and Africa, at large.”
Fatona assured that the Niger Delta Exploration Limited is committed to collaborating with the Nigerian Government to speed up the provision of the sustainable energy required for the future of Nigeria.
Fatona urged that the government and the stakeholders in the energy sector must partner and ensure an integrated approach to unlocking the gains of the ETP.
He, however, noted that Nigeria has the potential to guide other African countries into a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy future when almost 90 percent of Nigerians have been offered access to electricity through a combination of off-grid and on-grid energy sources.
Ademola Ogunbanjo, Executive Vice President, Oando Clean Energy Ltd, in his presentation at the conference, revealed that major oil companies across the world have realized that renewable energy is the future of the energy industry.
Ogunbanjo attributed the slow pace of growth and development in Africa, to the inability of the governments across the continent to optimally utilize their natural resources toward fixing the energy crisis.
He said, “Renewable Energy is the future and it is imperative for us to invest in this industry as a mean to provide the energy need of the fast-growing population.”
The Oando Clean Energy VP insisted that energy access to all is the solution to addressing insecurity and poverty in Africa.
