The Nigerian Government and a US firm, Sun Africa LLC have signed a development and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) implementation framework agreement for the construction of 5,000 MW of solar energy and 2,500 MWh of battery energy.
The energy storage power plants will attract up to $10 billion in investment from the US government.
The agreement was signed by Adeniyi Adebayo, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Adam Cortese, CEO of Sun Africa, in the presence of Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden’s Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
In his address on Tuesday, December 13, President Muhammadu Buhari said:
“As part of the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy, we set the vision 30:30:30 which aims at achieving 30GW of electricity by 2030 with renewable energy contributing 30% of the energy mix” in the presence of President Biden and the world leaders, and sought the United States support to achieve it.
Sun Africa, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (“S&W”), a leading US and international solar EPC company, and the Nigerian government have been working on the development of transformation grid-connected and mini-grids solar projects in multiple locations, including interconnection, electrification and smart meters infrastructure.
To ensure the broadest approach to access electricity, Sun Africa is also implementing solar cabins and solar home systems where the mini-grids are not economically viable.
The project will be constructed in different phases across the six geopolitical zones and will provide clean, reliable and affordable electricity to more than 30 million Nigerians.
Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a message, said:
“This transformative solar project is on top of the US climate and sustainable energy agenda and has been prioritized as a strategic lead for the US which is entirely in line with the Nigerian Government’s Energy Transition Plan, addressing clean and reliable energy supply, creating jobs and ensuring transfer of knowledge and technology.”
Dominica Nwabufo
