Nigeria to invest in $100bn solar alliance

This decision was taken at the ongoing International climate summit in Paris. Nigeria along with 120 other nations. The alliance scheme aims at providing all the needed infrastructure for production of solar energy in 120 countries by the year 2030.

The partnership with over 120 countries between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn in the International Solar Alliance (ISA), including some African and Asian nations, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, France, China and the United States, is to advance a low-carbon economy powered substantially by clean energy.

In their declaration, the countries said, “the objective to significantly augment solar power generation in our countries, we intend making joint efforts through innovative policies, projects, programmes, capacity building measures and financial instruments to mobilize more than $100 billion of investments that are needed by 2030 for the massive deployment of affordable solar energy.”

The members described this project as the landmark in producing the solar energy for future generations. The immediate deployment of competitive solar generation assets, storage and good technologies adapted to the countries’ individual needs will be done through this project.

“We intend to work together towards the development of appropriate benchmarks, facilitating resource assessments, supporting research and development and demonstration facilities, with a view to encouraging innovative and affordable applications of solar technologies.

“We share the collective ambition to undertake innovative and concerted efforts with a view to reducing the cost of finance and cost of technology for immediate deployment of competitive solar generation assets in all our countries and to pave the way for future solar generation, storage and good technologies adapted to our countries’ individual needs.”

Nigerian secretary of Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Fatima Nana Mede told that exploiting renewable energy requires partnership. She observed this project will reduce the dependency of future generations on fossil fuels which also helps in reducing dangerous emissions. She also expressed the readiness of Nigeria to be a part of this investment.

“It is the first time we having a number of countries that have a direct effect from the climate change discussing on the removal of fossil fuel, so that we have less emission. Nigeria is a signatory to the ISA, the launch signifies the intention of the alliance, we want to see how Nigeria can plug into that. This is a long-term investment, we need to build on the successes we had in the past, and put more solid foundations so that when we leave, we can build on them.”

The recent climatic changes urged the immediate need of using renewable and clean sources for energy needs. The tropical countries like Nigeria will definitely benefit by this solar projects if they build a background by setting up proper infrastructure.