Catalyzing Economic Transformation Through Scaling Renewable Energy Solutions in Deprived Climes in Nigeria
1.Let me start by thanking the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) for the kind invitation to address you tonight at this dinner. It is indeed a pleasure to be here with you.
2.The NESG has been a consistent and valued partner of government over the last three decades, shaping and strengthening public policy and thinking, demonstrating the extent of what is possible when we prioritize collaboration.
3.The theme of my remarks, Catalyzing Economic Transformation Through Scaling Renewable Energy Solutions in Deprived Climes in Nigeria, invites us to focus on two key concepts, renewable energy and deprived climes, and how the former can be used to address the latter in a transformative and sustainable way.
4.There’s no gainsaying the role of energy in economic growth and development. No country that has developed and prospered has managed it without an abundance of energy. And the story of Nigeria will not be an exception to this rule. We will not grow or prosper without making energy abundantly and cost-effectively available to power homes, offices, businesses, and factories.
5.As it happens, we are a country vastly blessed with energy resources: gas, coal, hydro, solar. Sadly, we have been unable to harness these resources on a scale that can consistently deliver the quantities of energy required to power our economic growth and industrialization.
6.But tonight is not for lamentation. We all know what the problems are, and we have lived with the painful outcomes for decades. This is the season of solutions: we must spend our time focusing on moving past age-old problems. And this is what NESG and its convenings are all about: mobilizing public-private partnerships that are always forward-looking and solution-focused.
7.Tonight’s theme focuses on deprived climes: the parts of Nigeria, rural and urban, that have been left behind in development. These include areas that are not yet connected to the national grid, or where connected, do not enjoy any priority considerations for electricity supply.
8.Even as we continue to make bold efforts to strengthen and expand the national grid, and ensure that every grid consumer is metered, we also have a pressing responsibility to take into consideration the tens of millions of Nigerians who will not be touched by the grid anytime soon, for various reasons.
9.This is where innovative off-grid solutions come in. It is heartwarming that the Federal Government is championing various initiatives and programs targeting these deprived areas. Solar energy’s ubiquity makes it the most widely deployed renewable energy solution in these areas.
10.Across Nigeria, the Federal Government’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has been busy making utility-scale renewable energy infrastructure a reality. Take the example of Shimankar, a rice farming village in Shendam local government area of Plateau State, that recently benefited from a 234kWp Solar Mini-grid, under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
11.The impact has been phenomenal, to say the least. Daily life no longer has to shut down in that rural community at dusk. Artisans now have a clean and cheaper alternative to diesel and petrol generators; and shopkeepers are now able to power their refrigerators.
12. One of the most interesting things that happened was that suddenly, more residents were able to buy milling machines to process their rice paddy for the market. More machines, more agro-processing, more associated economic activity, and greater incomes. A simple demonstration of the unstoppable impact of clean and affordable energy.