By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has expressed the determination of the Federal Government to create additional 10,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector over the coming years as part of efforts to bridge the huge energy access gap in the country.

REA’s Managing Director/CEO, Engr. Abba Aliyu who disclosed this on Friday at the launch of the Next Gen RESCO Programme in Abuja noted that there are about 70,000 jobs in the renewable energy space with thousands more needed in the industry.

He explained that the Next GEN Programme aims to attract and equip young Nigerian graduates with the required skills to work in the renewable energy space.

With an initial batch of 120 young graduates drawn from across the six geographical zones, the programme is expected to take the in-takes through a paid three months classroom education at the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) and nine months internship with selected Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCO).

The Eco Innovation Empowerment Initiatives (EIEI) said 10,236 applications were received for the programme out of which 120 were selected after a vigorous selection process.

Aliyu observed that with about 90 million Nigerians said to be without energy access, the country needs to turn the problem into opportunities.

“And we need to now turn this challenge into an opportunity. Rather than seeing it as we are facing a crisis, we should see it as an opportunity. An opportunity to address the access gap, an opportunity to localize the investment in renewable energy, and an opportunity to create a talent pipeline that would address this challenge that we are facing.

“And to make Nigeria to be the renewable hub of Africa, there are a number of things that must be put in place. First is financing. We need to have the finances that are required to build this infrastructure, to do this localization. And to date, we have a substantial amount of financing. It is on record that under the leadership of Mr. President, the Rural Electrification Agency got approval of the biggest public sector renewable funding in the entire world. It’s $750 million funding.

Beyond the $750m, there are lots of discussions for additional co-financing of another $200 million, then additional potential funding on that desert to power of about $700m”, he stated.

“He pointed out that the sector has grown significantly in the past two years, adding: “In terms of localization, through the deliberate policies of Mr. President, we now as a country have a 600-megawatt PV panels manufacturing capacity, which was before Mr. President’s assumption of power, was just 110. But to date, we have 600-megawatt of PV panels manufacturing. We have LPV with 100-megawatt capacity in Lagos that is now fully functional, operational.

“Here in Abuja, we have a JRV with 250-megawatt capacity. We have Oxano with 120-megawatt capacity, and we have GridConnect that is about to complete 150-megawatt capacity in Idu here in Abuja. So that’s in the aspect of localization.

“We are changing that narrative. We also have more than 50 renewable energy service companies. Before now, we only had about 10 of them”.

Launching the programme, Minister of Youth and development, Mr. Ayodele Olawande expressed happiness that 120 young Nigerians were being taken off the labour market.

While charging them to make the best use of the opportunities, he stressed that the government was determined to create the enabling environment for young people to excel.

Also speaking, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu said as the renewable energy sector continues to grow, they must also “invest strategically in human capacity and leadership that will drive Nigerian sustainable energy transition”.

Represented by the Director, Rural Electrification, Sunday Owolabi, the Minister noted that the programme “is a strong example of how government, industry, and development partners can collaborate to unlock a new opportunity for innovation and impactful sustainable energy developments in the country”.