Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu Says FG Identifies $23BN Investment Opportunities in Energy Transition

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said on Monday that the Federal Government has identified $23 billion in investment opportunities in Nigeria for projects that are focused on the country’s Energy Transition Plan.

During his speech at the 2nd German-Nigerian Symposium on Green Hydrogen, Adelabu said that the opportunities will not only provide electric power for economic development but will also lead to the creation of over 340,000 jobs by 2030.

He said the Energy Transition Plan (ETP) would create over 840,000 jobs by 2060, which will be driven mainly by power, cooking, and transport sectors, adding that gas would play a critical role as a transition fuel in Nigeria’s net-zero pathway, particularly in power and cooking sectors.

He said,

• The ETP creates significant investment opportunities, such as the establishment and expansion of industries related to solar energy, green hydrogen, and electric vehicles.

• $1.9 trillion is required to get Nigeria to net zero by 2060, including $410 billion above usual spending. This additional cost translates to about $10 billion annually. A $23 billion investment opportunity has been identified based on current in-country programmes and projects that are directly related to the Just Energy Transition.

Speaking on the importance of gas as Nigeria’s transition fuel, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Ogbonnaya Orji, said that the potential of producing blue hydrogen, which is not as clean as green hydrogen, would be useful in Nigeria’s journey towards cleaner energy sources.

He said,

• And sadly, Nigeria is still battling to put in place and embrace efficient gas commercialization and utilisation policy. For instance, NEITI’s recent report disclosed a total unremitted revenue of over $8.2 billion. These revenues arose from liabilities of government agencies and oil/gas companies.

• A breakdown of the unremitted payments in our report showed an outstanding gas royalty of $559.8 million and another unremitted sum of $828.8 million from unpaid gas flare penalty, which indicated that more gas was flared during the period than utilised, posing serious dangers to the global zero emissions agenda.

• NEITI is working closely with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on its ongoing gas commercialization policy to ensure transparent and effective implementation to reverse the trend of gas flares.

Annett Günther, the Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, said that Germany and Nigeria will both work towards boosting the production and use of hydrogen.

She also spoke about the recent visit of Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, to Nigeria, in which he talked about how the energy partnership between both nations was not only about traditional fossil fuels but also about hydrogen, the gas of the future.

Also speaking on this, the Country Director, of GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS, Markus Wagner, said, 

• It is crucial to recognise that green hydrogen has the potential to revolutionise our energy landscape. It offers a path to reducing carbon emissions, diversifying energy sources, and boosting economic growth.

• Nigeria and Germany share a long and fruitful history of cooperation in the energy sector, and GIZ has been an active partner in this journey, working alongside Nigerian institutions and partners to drive positive change.