Nigeria’s renewable energy sector is set to receive a EUR165 million boost from the European Union (EU).
The EU has set a 2030 target for its own member states to collectively increase the share of renewable energy sources to at least 32% of gross final energy consumption, and it also supporting development in regions beyond EU borders.
In an interview with the Nation, Ketil Karlsen, EU ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, explains the fund will help to create opportunities in the off-grid sub-sector of the electricity industry and grow businesses in the country.
‘More than 80 million people in Nigeria are outside the grid-electricity bracket [which has] affected the growth of businesses and families,’ he says. ‘For the availability of jobs, it is absolutely vital that businesses can thrive and for businesses to thrive it is important that they have access to affordable energy in order to compete.’
The funding will help support Nigeria’s Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP), which aims to increase the supply of renewable electricity from 13% of total energy generation in 2015 to 23% in 2025, and 36% by 2030.
