Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
With a vast and mostly untapped potential in renewable energy resources, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has set a target to generate a minimum of 2,000MW of electricity from renewables this year.
According to a report obtained from the commission’s website, the agency assured guaranteed price and access to grid as well as
feed-in tariff for solar, wind, biomass and small hydro.
Apart from the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) based on plant life cycle of 20 years, electricity distribution companies (DisCos) are mandated to procure minimum of 1000MW (50 per cent of the total projected renewable sourced electricity
NERC has also approved, in line with the National Policy on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, three windows for grid connected renewable energy projects such as
net-metering for very small capacities (typically below 1MW), feed-in tariff for capacities up to 5MW of solar, 10MW of wind, 10MW of biomass and 30MW of small hydro.
Also, approved is competitive tender for capacities above these thresholds to be procured through Nigerian Bulk Electricity Traders (NBET).
“Pursuant to its regulatory mandates, NERC established in 2015, a feed-in tariff for renewable energy based power generation in Nigeria.
Nigeria has an abundance of various renewable energy resources of which solar, wind, biomass and small hydro power (SHP) are the most ubiquitous. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is committed to stimulating investment in renewable energy generation in Nigeria” the report, said.
Speaking to Daily Sun, the Executive Secretary of Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Lande Abudu, agreed that many Nigerians are deploying renewable energy now than before because it is a clean energy.
“There is already more demand for renewable energy. In any case, in the metering and other issues we all have to work together because the mini-grid still has to be paid for, one way or another. If it is stand-alone system that is another thing. Then that means the market becomes huger for them. Stand-alone system is small. You can’t have 10-work system in the centre of Abuja” she said.
On the tariff, Abudu said that it is either pay go or by tariff and can be calculated using a central metering system.
“It has been finetuned. Sometimes, it is by tariff. Sometimes, if it is standalone, it is pay go.