Shettima: Nigeria needs $360 billion to achieve energy transition by 2060

The federal government said Friday that it would take about $10 billion a year to achieve the energy transition by 2060, or $360 billion over 36 years.

The government had earlier said Nigeria needed to maximize its oil resources in the short term to provide baseload energy to turbocharge the economy.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Infrastructure, Sadiq Wanka, stated this in Abuja during the Energy Transformation Symposium organized by Development Agenda Magazine and attended by dignitaries including former Minister of Energy, Prof. Barth Nnaji.

He said: “Fully implementing the energy transition in Nigeria would not be easy. This requires concerted local efforts and international cooperation to secure financing and prepare the Nigerian workforce for a net neutral economy and a truly just energy transition.

“If we consider financing alone, financing the energy transition requires investments of over $10 billion annually by 2060. Given that 45 percent of Nigerians have no access to electricity and GDP per capital is half of what it was Egypt and one third in South Africa, there is a clear need to improve the economic situation of Nigerians. However, there are critical environmental considerations that, if not managed properly, will actually hinder our ability to change the lives of millions of our people for the better.

“Most of this money would necessarily come from the private sector, including through initiatives to access high-integrity carbon markets.

“But we are ready for this challenge. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is ready to make tough decisions and the rich resource base and depth of human capital in our dear country will ensure our success.

Shettima said the two-pronged strategy to harness renewable energy sources alongside oil and gas investments has delivered tangible results that support the overall energy transition, as does the Climate Change Act signed in 2021, which aims to mainstream climate action to major national plans and programs.

He said: “The renewed push towards hydropower aims to tap over 14,000 MW of hydropower potential in the near future. The 700 MW Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant has just come online in 2024. The national regulator has also made it mandatory for electricity distribution licensees to source a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources.

“The Electricity Act 2023, which Mr. President signed, strongly supports the transition to a more renewable energy mix.”

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, represented by the Managing Director of Kaduna Power Supply Company (KAPSCO), Idris Aminu Idris, said his state has adopted what he called a “unique approach to putting people at the heart of its development agenda.”

Sani said: “The Kaduna Solar for Health program began with the goal of improving access to healthcare by providing sustainable, uninterrupted power to Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) and Maternity Clinics in all Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kaduna State.

“The scope of the project has expanded to include rural isolated general hospitals in 255 wards in Kaduna State.

“The objectives of the Kaduna Solar for Health program are to increase access to health care; ensuring that one hospital in each ward and LGA has access to reliable electricity 24 hours a day; eliminating gasoline and diesel generators that create noise and pollute the environment with toxic waste such as CO, which can lead to serious environmental and health problems.”

Editor-in-Chief of Development Agenda, Paddy Ezeala, said the event was organized to showcase how to achieve a smooth energy transition.

He said: “Speakers at today’s event speak on how the energy transition movement is likely to impact Nigerians, especially citizens, and more specifically those impacted by the activities of extractive industries.

“These include those currently impacted by the extraction of fossil fuels or those impacted by the extraction of minerals that power the so-called clean energy such as lithium, cobalt, etc.