Mustapha Abdullahi's ECN Renewable Energy Drive Gets Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology Commendation ..... As Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad Pledges Stronger Support

 

"The visit provides an opportunity to interact with the Director-General and management staff of the commission, understand their activities and challenges, and identify areas where the ministry could provide necessary support." Muhammad.

.... Says "I am impressed by the performance of the ECN management and the projects delivered by the Commission."

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad, has pledged stronger support for the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) following the installation of a 0.5-megawatt solar hybrid power system that has taken the commission completely off the national grid.

Dr. Muhammad gave the assurance during a familiarisation visit to the ECN as part of his tour of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

The Permanent Secretary said the visit provided him an opportunity to interact with the Director-General and management staff of the commission, understand their activities and challenges, and identify areas where the ministry could provide necessary support.

“I must say that this visit is very important to me, to meet not only with the DG but also with the management staff and to hear from them the issues, the challenges and what we can do as the ministry to support what they are doing,” he said.

Dr. Muhammad said he was impressed by the performance of the ECN management and the projects delivered by the Commission.

“I am impressed by the performance of the DG and what I have seen in terms of projects that have been delivered by the commission,” he said, pledging to work closely with the Director-General to ensure that the ECN received the support required from the ministry.

The Permanent Secretary particularly commended the commission’s renewable energy project, describing it as a model that could be replicated across government agencies, ministries and communities.

“This is the way to go,” he said. “Nigeria is blessed in so many ways. One of our blessings is actually the abundant sunlight.

“Seeing it being fully utilised and how the experts have packaged it, this is actually more efficient, and we are looking at the scalability and how we can use this in other agencies, ministries and even for community use purposes.”

Speaking on the project, the Director-General of the ECN said the Commission had, since his appointment in October 2023, undertaken several initiatives aimed at demonstrating Nigeria’s capacity to deploy sustainable energy solutions.

He said the highlight of the projects was the installation of the 0.5MW solar hybrid system, which has completely taken the commission off the national grid.

According to him, the Commission now generates its electricity from solar energy, reducing dependence on the national grid and demonstrating the viability of sustainable energy solutions.

The ECN DG said the Commission has an electricity load requirement of about 350 kilowatts, while the newly installed system has a capacity of 500 kilowatts.

He said the excess capacity could potentially support neighbouring facilities, adding that the project was designed as a pilot that could be replicated across the country.

“We are demonstrating capacity, we are demonstrating sustainability and we are showing Nigerians that it is possible,” he said.

The ECN boss added that the commission was working to localise renewable energy technology in Nigeria through a partnership with LONGi, with plans to establish local solar panel production.

According to him, the initiative would help reduce the cost of renewable energy technology and make solar solutions more affordable for Nigerians.

“This is to tell Nigerians that it is going to become cheaper and very affordable because it is going to be Nigerian-made,” He said.

He further disclosed that the ECN was collaborating with state governments to build their capacity and scale renewable energy generation as electricity generation and distribution become increasingly decentralised.

He said the Commission ssion had signed agreements with states to support capacity development and attract financing for renewable energy projects.

The ECN, he added, was also working with Energy China to deploy five-megawatt mini-grid projects across states.

According to him, the initiatives align with the Federal Government's ambition to expand Nigeria's electricity generation capacity to 30,000 megawatts by 2030, with 30 per cent expected to come from renewable energy sources.

The visit highlights the Ministry's commitment to supporting the ECN in advancing renewable energy solutions and expanding access to sustainable electricity across Nigeria.