The Federal Government has disclosed that it is considering the construction of renewable power plants to enhance electricity generation all over Nigeria.
This was made known by the Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu, during a meeting with foreign agencies on Thursday.
During a conversation with Adelabu's media aide, Bolaji Tunji, on Friday, the minister mentioned his plan to ensure incremental improvement in national power supply which includes the creation of renewable power plants.
A facility that generates electricity from a renewable energy source, such as solar, wind, water, or geothermal energy, is known as a renewable power plant.
Without relying on fossil fuels like coal, oil, or natural gas, these types of power plants use the power of the sun, wind, water, or the earth's heat to generate electricity.
Adelabu had pledged to guarantee that the Rural Electrification Agency satisfies hopes by assisting the underprivileged and neglected communities which may not be financially attractive to electricity distribution corporations.
Tunji stated that the minister is currently focusing on distributed power by intensifying efforts to increase the volume of renewable energy to national capacity, with a specific focus on developing small hydropower plants along the 26 small dams in the county.
When the water level goes down, the minister noted that the hydropower plants can be "hybridised with solar".
He added that the northern part of the country is considering solar options, including the use of windmills to generate power offshore along the coastal part of the country with liquidity and funding being the main problem of the sector.
He added that if allowed to operate a commercial model, where all the costs attributed to the generation of power, transmission, and distribution are recovered through the tariffs, while the operators are given a good markup, the sector is supposed to generate funds.
Adelabu further highlighted that the power sector is prohibited from charging cost-reflective tariffs due to the government's commitment to subsidy without timely disbursement of funds.
He said, “Once the sector suffers from liquidity challenge, there would be no investment in the sector and that is why the structures are dilapidated.
Adelabu was assured of continued support by the development partners, including representatives from the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, African Development Bank, and others, because his briefing had given a clear direction on how to resolve some of the issues in the power sector.
