Nigeria has the potential to meet 57% of its energy demand using renewables by 2050, according to a new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Energy Commission of Nigeria, with electrification projects playing a crucial role in the growth of the country’s renewables market.
The report – Renewable Energy Roadmap for Nigeria – identifies the country’s rapidly growing population and rampant energy poverty as key threats to attaining energy security and economic expansion.
By increasing annual investments in renewable energy to $35 billion, Nigeria has the opportunity to generate 47% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and 57% by 2050, helping to ensure the provision of affordable, accessible and clean energy to consumers, says the study.
The report recommends Nigeria to accelerate its clean cooking and energy efficiency targets, while prioritizing the deployment of distributed power technologies, such as solar photovoltaic power, hydropower and biofuels.
As Nigeria’s energy sector continues to be disrupted by regular outages, the study adds that boosting renewables penetration will expand domestic generation capacity to 62 GW by 2030 and 178 GW by 2050 for enhanced grid stability.
“The highly distributed institutional structure of the energy sector in Nigeria means that coordination of policies will be essential to unlocking integrated energy transition planning and ensuring its success,” states Dr. Adeleke Olorunimbe Mamora, Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. “A cross-cutting agency or body tasked with doing so would be helpful in building consensus and developing a coherent plan, which in turn would allow for the scaling up of renewable energy to meet the needs across the Nigerian energy sector.”
