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The World Bank has slated Nigeria as one of West African countries to benefit from solar funding as Africa’s most populous nation struggles with epileptic power supply.
The Bretton Woods institution will provide 19 West African countries $200 million in funding as part of the Off-Grid Electrification Project.
Implemented by the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Ecreae Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, the initiative will enable the deployment of solar photovoltaic systems for households, utilities and production infrastructure. Its implementation will be in two phases that will span five years between 2017 and 2022.
The beneficiary countries of the project are Mauritania, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Government policies may stall this initiative in Nigeria. Since January 2018, the Nigerian Customs has been demanding payment of 5 percent duty and an additional 5 percent value added tax (VAT) on solar panels imported into the country citing obedience to Federal Government’s fiscal policy, which contradicts the country’s power aspirations.
Babatunde Fashola, minister of Power, Works and Housing is implementing the Federal Government’s incremental power policy which basically seeks to utilise power wherever it can be found in whatever form it can be harnessed.
In this vein, Nigeria has developed its first public Energy Mix statement that seeks to achieve 30 per cent of renewable energy by 2030, Fashola said during a public lecture at the London School of Economics recently.
For now, Nigeria generates most of its electricity from hydro. The minster listed major hydro-electricity projects, either being aggressively pursued towards completion or imminent commencement, to include the 700MW Zungeru, 40MW Kashimbila, 30MW Gurara, 29 MW Dadin Kowa, all approaching completion, and the 3050 MW Mambilla, whose financing is now under consideration.
Pointing out that Government policy and action were stimulating consensus and action towards other sources of cleaner energy like solar, the Minister said that electric energy production capacity has increased from 5,000 MW to 7,000 MW and Distribution has increased from under 3,000 MW to 5,000 MW while work continues to expand the capacities with expected results in the short term.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
