The Federal Government has said there is no going back on the proposed ban on the importation of photovoltaic solar panels into Nigeria.
The government said the ban was necessary as the importation has cost the country N200 billion so far.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, reiterated the government’s position on Monday, at a roundtable between the agency and the Lagos State Government.
The roundtable was for the agencies to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the electrification of rural communities in Lagos.
Aliyu said efforts were ongoing to change the narrative and domesticate the manufacturing of renewable equipment in the country and expressed confidence that Lagos, being the centre of excellence, is going to lead that domestication drive.
“Over N200bn has been spent on the importation of PV panels into the country. While there is a need for that importation, one of the key things our agency is striving for is domesticating the manufacturing of this renewable equipment. Lagos, being the centre of excellence, is going to lead a total war in that domestication,” the managing director stated.
According to Aliyu, the agency has already crystallised the emergence of PV panel manufacturing plants in Lagos.
“There was a PV panel manufacturing assembly plant in Ikotun, Lagos. They started with 10 megawatts, but with the collaboration with REA, they have moved and increased their capacity to an additional 100 megawatts,” he said.
The REA boss also hinted that the agency is in the process of signing a joint development agreement with Green World for a lithium battery assembly plant in Lagos.
According to him, this is a $150 million investment taking place in Lagos.
Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, recently said the Federal Government is willing to support local manufacturing of solar panels while restricting imports.
Nnaji highlighted Nigeria’s capacity to produce solar panels through the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, saying “With NASENI here, you know that we have panels. It has a factory that has started producing solar panels, and other private individuals are also producing solar panels as we speak. So, all we need to do is, even through science and technology, through our Presidential Executive Order No. 5, we will stop all these importations of solar panels. We will support our local industries to grow.”
