Stakeholders Validate Draft Report Designed to Remove Risks in Expanding Renewable Energy Investment in Nigeria

Stakeholders Validate Draft Report Designed to Remove Risks in Expanding Renewable Energy Investment in Nigeria

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s energy sector have validated a draft report of consultants designed to remove barriers/risks affecting the broadening of renewable energy investment in the country. The overall objective of the project is to assist the Federal Government in achieving a transformation in the electricity mix such that at least 20GW of Nigeria’s electricity is generated from solar PV by 2030. Bennett Oghifo reports

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing and other stakeholders is implementing a 5-Year demonstration project titled: “De-Risking Renewable Energy NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) for the Nigerian Power Sector”. The project has three key components: Design and development of a power sector renewable energy NAMA supported by De-risking Renewable Energy Investment (DREI) analysis; Developing Policy and Institutional Framework for private investment in on-grid renewable power generation; and Demonstration of 1st Commercial on-grid renewable energy project.

The project is expected to contribute to the country’s attainment of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) mitigation targets in the energy sector, with expected direct emission reductions of 205,700 tons of CO2e during the project’s lifetime and additional indirect emission reductions of between 6.79 and 9.72 million tCO2e.

Also, the project seeks to develop Measurement, Reportable and Verifiable (MRV) framework, with appropriate indicators, to measure, report and verify the emission reductions that will be generated by the investment in low-carbon activities under the NAMA/NDCs.

The 2-day workshop for the Validation of the Draft Report on the “Development of Three Comprehensive Sectoral NAMA Technology Action Plans (TAPs) for Solar PV, Wind and Biomass” and “Development of MRV Mechanism/Grid Emission Factor for the Nigerian Power Sector”. It was therefore organised to give stakeholders an opportunity to review/update and validate the reports.

At the end of the workshop, which held in Ikeja, Lagos last week, the Project National Coordinator/Manager Engr. Isaac Ierve said, “The validation workshop was very successful and it is a step forward towards removing barriers/risks affecting scaling up of renewable energy investment in the country. I implore all energy actors in Nigeria to take advantage of these studies so that development could be made in the sector.”

Situation Report

The project has identified that Nigeria’s electricity grid faces many challenges, including insufficient grid-connected capacity to meet demand; inadequate infrastructure to make the country’s abundant gas available for power generation; and an inefficient transmission and distribution system with limited coverage. Consequently, 50% of the electrical energy consumed in the country is currently produced off-grid by diesel and gasoline generators of all shapes and sizes and there is also high unmet demand amongst the rural population. These energy gaps can be reduced with the country’s good renewable energy resource potential such as solar, wind, biomass and hydropower energy.

Thus, the project seeks to develop three comprehensive sectoral NAMA technology action plans (TAPs) for solar PV, wind and biomass. The study is expected to overcome indirect barriers to technology uptake or diffusion, produce a clearly articulated plan with specific, convincing request for financial and technical resources to help promote the uptake and/or diffusion of solar PV, Wind and Biomass climate technologies in Nigeria and propose a road map or action plan for their implementation.

The project is also expected to develop a framework that will establish “accurate measurement and accounting of actual GHG (greenhouse gas) emission reduction from mitigation actions in the energy generation and end-use sectors. Currently, many on-going energy projects do not consider the critical role of an MRV methodology in assessing the contribution of NAMA implementation to the overall national voluntary GHG emission reduction targets.

To address these issues, international consultants (ICs) were engaged to: Develop three comprehensive sectoral NAMA technology action plans (TAPs) for solar PV, wind and biomass; and develop an MRV mechanism for the Nigerian power sector.

The Consultants were in Nigeria for their first missions, during which, many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders were consulted to gather baseline information needed for the successful conduct of the studies. The Consultants are to visit Nigeria for the second mission to present their draft reports to enable stakeholders make final inputs.

The main objectives of the workshop were to: discuss and validate the draft report from the International Consultant on Development of three Comprehensive Sectoral NAMA Technology Action Plans (TAPs) for Solar PV, Wind and Biomass.

They also discussed, updated and validated the draft report from the International Consultant on Development of Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) Mechanism for the Nigerian Power Sector.

Other actions the stakeholders engaged in at the two-day meeting were to discuss, update and validate the draft Grid Emission Factor Calculations for the Nigerian Power Sector.

The expected outcomes of the workshop were: Validated Report on development of three comprehensive sectoral NAMA technology action plans (TAPs) for solar PV, wind and biomass; Validated Report on the Development of an MRV mechanism for the Nigerian power sector; and Validated Report on the Development of a Grid Emission factor for the Nigerian power sector.

Technical Session

The technical session was held for two days 24 -25 April 2019. Day one was “validation of draft report on development of MRV mechanism, grid emission factor for the Nigerian power sector and brief training on calculation of Grid emission factor” while day two was “validation of draft report on development of three comprehensive NAMA technology action plans for solar PV, wind and biomass.”

Participants

The Workshop was attended by 34 participants drawn from the relevant Federal Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations. The Federal Agencies included Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv.), Federal Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Planning and Budget (MNP&B), Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and members of the Press, etc.

The Director General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) Prof. Eli Jidere Bala, represented by Director of Linkages and Consultancy Unit, Engr. Okon N. Ekpenyong welcomed the representative of Delloitte Tohmatsu Advisory consulting firm Mr. Raymond Caguioa and all participants at present. He gave a brief on progress of the project so far. In his brief, Engr. Okon N. Ekpenyong stated that the issue of energy and the environment was a concern for all. He said harmony between these two is of great importance with management being the driving force. He further stated that over 70% of our Greenhouse Gas Emissions is from the energy sector therefore there is need for measurement to know the quantity of emissions. Ekpenyong said a lot of efforts have been made in the past to quantify emissions in Nigeria but the GEF-UNDP Derisking Renewable Energy (RE) project is seeking to have the ability to measure the emissions from Nigeria power sector (NPS) through a hands-on practical guide from Delloitte Tohmatsu Advisory LLC, Japan. He was happy with the crop of stakeholder present at the meeting and express optimism that the deliberation would be a successful one. He wished all fruitful validation session.

In his goodwill message the representative of Federal Ministry of Environment, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Desk officer, Mr. Kisomu David Olutope stated the need for all making judicious use of energy the environment so that our climate will not change fast. He expressed his happiness that the MRV framework for the power sector is coming to reality. He wished that the objective of the meeting is achieved. He formerly declared the workshop open.

The representative from Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Engr. Peter Aribaba was impressed with the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) for the progress made so far in championing the derisking renewable project. He was pleased to be part of the validation team and wished all participants a fruitful deliberation.

The representative from Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Engr. Chinedum Ukabiala in his goodwill message thanked all for attending the validation workshop. He urged the participants to put in their best in order to come out with the best validation possible in order to encourage those supporting us with the funds.

Mrs. Mariam Lawal representing Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) thanked all participants. She was impressed with the outcome of the report so far. It was good for her to be part of the validation team. She stated that relying on one source of energy is not the way forward for the hungry energy sector in Nigeria therefore there was every need to key into government decision on scaling up energy through renewables. She hoped that the results of the validation would be beneficial to the country and the next step.

Presentation of Draft Report on Development of MRV Framework for the Nigerian Power Sector

The presentation was done by Mr. Raymond Caguioa a representative of Deloitte Tohmatsu Advisory LLC, Japan. He first of all appreciated all participants for the warm welcome accorded him.

The presentation of the draft report covered: An overview of the experience of Nigeria with monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) and the proposed design of national MRV system for the power sector in the country, respective institutional arrangements and the implementation plan; Analysis of the identified gaps on the road to MRV system establishment and the required support for overcoming them.

He stated in his presentation that there is an absence of an overall national MRV system in Nigeria and for the energy sector and also of consideration to MRV of sustainable development (SD) co-benefits or financial support. He continued that the Nigerian national MRV system is designed in a holistic manner and in line with existing UNFCCC Guidelines, covering not only GHG emissions, but also SD co-benefits of the implemented mitigation actions and MRV for the financial flows.

MRV implementation plan

The Consultant stated the proposed steps of the MRV implementation. Firstly Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) is to be operationalized under the MRV system is the de-risking renewable energy NAMA for the Nigerian power sector this will enable the creation of a more efficient model of policy making on the path to low carbon development.

Institutional arrangements

There should be initiation of consultations from Federal Ministry of Environment, Department of Climate Change (DCC) with other relevant government entities to obtain their endorsement for the proposed system and also inclusion of the finalised institutional arrangements in a special legal document on MRV, such as Act or Decree, describing the purpose of the MRV system, the responsibilities of the different entities participating in it (such as the FMPWH, ECN and NERC for the power sector), tentative timelines are to be provided for operationalization of the MRV system; Detailed MRV standards and rules for the NAMAs should be developed and endorsed by Nigerian Government; and Operationalisation; Domestic registry of mitigation activities should be created covering the description of each activity and the parameters to be monitored Also establishment of the measurement and data collection responsibilities, and reporting and verification processes; Establishment of feedback mechanism; and Collection of data on the effect of the various mitigation actions, including data on GHG emission reductions, effect on sustainable development and financial flows; Analysis of collected data in order to understand the impacts of the various mitigations activities and provide feedback to the national climate change and development policy of Nigeria.

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