Expert seeks hamonisation of renewable energy policies

An energy expert, Mr Imamudeen Talba, has called for the review and harmonisation of renewable energy as well as energy efficiency policies in Nigeria.

Talba, who is also the Chairman, Steering Committee, Renewable Energy and Energy Sufficiency Associations-Alliance REEA-A, made the call at a 3-day workshop on the Review and Harmonisation of Renewable Energy and Energy Policies in Nigeria.

Talba said that there were policies of mismatches, adding, ”different policies were being driven by different people and institutions and in that context, there is no synergy.

“ The policies are so uncoordinated that everybody is doing his own, if you are looking for data, you can hardly see them, because there is nobody to harmonise the data store where you can get it.

“Every government institution, when you look at their budget, you see everybody going about renewable energy.

“ Everybody going about the solar project, so there is the need to come together to have a coordinated framework so that somebody will be identified as a leader in that aspect, ‘’ he said.

Talba said that there was the need to have an institution that would be held accountable for whatever investment the government was making in respect of renewable energy.

According to him, the kind of framework on the ground was so disintegrated as different institutions were going about renewable energy and there was no coordination.

“So, at the end of the day, there is nothing to show, because there is no target or specific goal and nothing had been achieved, but money had been spent
“ So, the alliance decided that there is a need to bring everybody together so that we can identify what we need because we have a common goal.

“Our common goal is that the government must better the lives of Nigerians, ‘’ he said.

On his part, Mr Alli Abubakar, Director, Renewable Energy and Rural Power Access, Ministry of Power, said that the workshop was put together to brainstorm ways to harmonise all policies on renewable energy and energy sufficiency.

The director was represented by Mr Emeafu Ebere, an official of the Ministry of Power.

Abubakar said that the decisions reached at the workshop on the harmonisation would assist the government to deliver optimally on the promises of providing clean and efficient energy to all Nigerians. (NAN)