The launch of the Delta State Renewable Energy Policy Roadmap has continued to generate reactions from stakeholders and target beneficiaries of the project in the state, as they now see the possibility of having a renewable energy-based economy in the oil-rich state.
Speaking to BusinessDay after the launch of the policy roadmap in Asaba, Gloria Umukotete, the assistant secretary of the Crenstar Renewable Energy Initiative (CREN), a non-governmental organisation, said it’s a welcome development.
“I am one of the happiest persons to see that Delta State has keyed into the renewable energy to transit from oil-based economy for the betterment of Deltans. That means, with what they have at hand (policy roadmap), we will join hands and work together with them,” she said.
“It will make us to increase the advocacy of renewable energy to really come to the grassroots,” said Umukotete who doubles as the Delta State Coordinator of Women in Renewable Energy Association (Wire A).
“It is true that not everybody really knows about renewable energy even though it is here with us, we still need to do a lot of advocacy.
So, this is a platform for us to reach out to everybody who needs to know about renewable energy,” she said.
She also said that CREN and WIRE-A were poised to embrace the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan which is geared towards achieving universal access to energy by 2030 and a carbon-neutral energy system by 2060 while also providing enough energy to power the industry and other productive uses.
Many other stakeholders had also expressed elation over the Delta renewable energy policy roadmap launch, expressing belief that it would move the state from oil-based economy to a more diversified one in which renewable and clean energy plays a more prominent role.
The collaboration that birthed the renewable energy policy roadmap in Delta:
The policy roadmap was birthed through the intervention of Clean Technology Hub (CTH), a non-governmental organisation and its sponsor, Heinrich Boll Shiftung (HBS) Foundation, a global brand, in collaboration with the state government and key stakeholders in the renewable energy sector.
The five-year Medium-Term Policy Roadmap for the state outlines the plan to create an enabling environment and take an active role in improving the access to renewable energy for the state’s residents. It specifies targets and means for renewable energy development in the state for the next five years (2023-2028). The focus is on off- grid renewable energy solutions, with specifications for measures to be taken in the short, medium and long-term.
The document highlights the state’s energy needs with a focus on six key sectors of the economy namely: agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), education, health, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and security, and transportation.
The state seen to be blessed with many natural resources, is the second largest oil-producing state in the country. Many had wondered whether the blessing was a curse seeing that the residents also suffer epileptic power supply like any other state in the country. Their livelihoods, environment and ecosystem are more at danger due to the effects of oil exploration and exploitation in the oil producing communities.
Findings revealed that for decades, the state had focused on the production of fossil fuels while relying on the national grid to provide electricity to its residents.
This situation is seen to have neither enabled the state to industrialise and diversify away from oil dependence, nor supply the energy needs of the 5.4 million residents.
Delta is the part of the Niger Delta region which straddles the Atlantic coast with the majority of its population engaged in agriculture and fishing. The state also features vibrant commercial activities, with projected population growth over the next half decade, having an increasing vulnerability to climate change.
Past attempts were said to have been made by various groups to proffer solution to the energy problems of the state but such efforts had been dispersed.
The Independent Power Project (IPP) executed by the state government through a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement last year, only supplies electricity to the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the state.
The effect of this is that businesses and livelihoods continue to suffer due to epileptic power supply and in the absence of same in most rural communities. They depend more on generating-sets for power supply. No aspect of the economy had been spared.
The roadmap when implemented could change the negative narratives in the state.
The launching event
The launching which was organised by CTH, an energy innovation centre through the sponsorship of HBS Foundation, climaxed in the official handover of the 35-page document to the Delta State Government, for domiciliation.
Ifeoma Malo, the chief executive officer and co-founder of CTH, handed over the document to the state’ government through Blessing Edewor, the permanent secretary, Delta State Ministry of Energy who was present at the occasion alongside other top government functionaries from the relevant ministries and agencies – state and federal.
At the launching which took place in Asaba, Delta State’s capital, Abel Gaiya, the deputy manager CTH, said that it was expected that the medium-term plan would form the basis of stimulating, experimenting in, exploring about Delta State’s renewable energy market and satisfying the residents energy needs.
He said that with the adoption of the roadmap for renewable energy, Delta State would be one of the very few states to launch an energy policy roadmap focused on off-grid renewable energy technologies.
In his keynote address, Blessing Edewor, the energy commissioner stated that the resilience on the national grid had become problematic to the socio-economic growth and development.
He said the national grid system was no longer sustainable, hence the need to embrace renewable energy solutions which are cleaner and more climate-friendly.
Read also: How FG’s Energy Transition Plan will tackle energy poverty, climate change
The launch of this roadmap will serve as a blueprint to achieve access to electricity by various communities as well as complement the socio-economic development of the state.
Also, in his goodwill message, Godspower Asiuwhu, commissioner for environment commended CTH for choosing Delta State in their bid to implementing the “Driving Renewable Energy Adoption at state level” project and the efforts in engaging and designing during the various consultations and validation workshops with relevant stakeholders in the state, all leading to the launch event for a renewable energy policy roadmap in the state.
He assured of his ministry’s continuous collaboration to the next phase of the state energy transition implementation plans.
“Delta State is very vulnerable to the impact of climate change and about 75 percent of the vast majority of Green House Gas (GHG) which are not health-friendly,” he said.
It is estimated that Delta State has an annual average solar radiance of 4.53 kilowatts hour/m2/day, which is the third highest in the South-South region. Solar PVs can produce 1683.8mwhour/m2/2 in the state. He emphasized there is good potential for solar-based renewable energy solutions in the state.
David Otu of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) also did a presentation on the activities and programmes of the agency which included the siting of energy renewable projects in schools and hospitals in parts of South-South zone, promising to replicate same in Delta with the launching of the roadmap and the policy implementation.
Lucksheiter Jochen, the country director of HBS, said the foundation would be willing to partner state governments that are committed to providing sustainable energy solutions.
Beyond document presentation
Bassey Daramfon, the manager, Energy Access, CTH, in an interview with BusinessDay Sunday recalled that the journey for the roadmap began in 2020 when the organisation embarked on a fact-finding mission in Delta, Ondo, and Ebonyi States to ascertain from stakeholders what the issues were in the states. It however, ended up in developing a realistic roadmap for Delta.
“There is a federal policy on renewal energy but there is need to bring it down to state level. Now, we are using Delta State as a pilot. We are happy that the Delta State Government has assured through the Energy Ministry that it would push for the implementation of policy roadmap.
“Beyond the document presentation, we want to see a positive change and that was why we brought our partners from the federal level – REA, as they are into hospitals, rural electrification programmes and they want to see how these could be achieved in the state as well,” the commissioner said.
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