The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2030

  • New import duty threatens 30% renewable energy target by 2030

    The Federal Government’s goal of achieving 30 per cent renewable energy by 2030 may be threatened by the new import duties introduced by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), the President Renewable Energy Association of Energy (REAN), Mr SegunAdaju, has said.

    The government, he said, may not meet its target of producing 30 per cent of national electricity requirement through renewable energy sources if it fails to review its duties on solar energy panels and accessories.

    According to him, solar generates more electricity than bio-mass and other renewable energy sources, adding that his members have been finding it difficult to survive since February this year, when the NCS introduced 10 per cent tariff increase on solar panels and other equipment brought into the country.

    In a telephone interview with The Nation, he said the development was posing grave consequence to the solar electricity providers as well as the Federal Government, which intends to achieve 30 per cent of electricity through solar and other renewable means by 2030.

    Adaju said: “Hitherto, solar energy providers were enjoying zero import duties on their equipment. But that has changed since February 2018, when the Customs started implementing 10 per cent tariff on solar panels and other equipment used by the producers of such electricity.”

    According to him, Customs are charging five per cent import duties on solar panels and another five per cent on materials used to produce solar power. He said the government would not be able to achieve its goal of improving electricity supply through renewables until it ensures a downward review of duties charged on renewable energy materials.

    “The government should stop deceiving itself that it would achieve 30 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 on the back of increased tariff on some power equipment.  The producers of renewable energies are bemoaning their fate, as well as gradually exiting the business. Out of the three renewable energy sources, solar is cheaper and more reliable. Solar produces more electricitythan biomass,” he added.

    He blamed the government for introducing energy mix in order to enable the country generate electricity through both off-grid and on-grid means.

    The government, he said, should have put in place a structure that is solid and friendly for the production of renewables since it realises that production of electricity through gas and hydro means is no enough in both developed and developing countries.

    The government, he said, has further worsened the electricity problems in the country by introducing new import duties for producers of renewable energy.

    He noted that the body, in conjunction with other stakeholders, is organising a conference with the theme: “Solar Future Nigeria”, in May this year, as part of efforts to create awareness for the production of solar and other renewable energy sources.

    He urged companies to put production of renewable energies, especially solar in their plans, adding that reliance on thermal and hydro electricity generation is evidently not enough to improve activities in countries across the world.

  • Nigeria eyes ‘100,000Mw by 2030’

    The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) has predicted that Nigeria will be able to generate 100,000 megawatts (Mw) of electricity by 2030.

    Its Director-General, Eli Bala,yesterday said the projection would be possible with an annual economic growth rate of seven per cent and steady implementation of the National Energy Plan by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

    Bala saaid: “With the incremental power programme; every time, every year, we must have an increment in power generation.

    “We will also increase our capacity to transmit as well as the capacity to distribute. So I think we are on course, although it is not easy.

    “Very soon, we will get to a level where we will have a 100,000Mw or 100 gigawatts by 2030 and the economy growing at the rate of about seven per cent annually.”

    Noting that the mandate of the commission is to produce strategic plans and coordinate national policies, Bala said: “If you look at the strategic plans we have produced, we produced energy master plan and in particular with respect to electricity generation.”

    He said the commission was the first to articulate the various energy mix, including renewable and nuclear energy.

    “We made a plan in such a manner that we project by 2030, if the economy is to grow at seven percent, we need nothing less than 100 gigawatts of electricity capacity.

    “And you know our politicians want the economy to grow by double-digits. If the economy is to grow by double-digit, we need nothing less than 300 gigawatts by 2030.

    “I think knowing what you want is a very important thing. If you don’t know what you want, you are going nowhere,”  he told NAN.

  • Nigeria to overtake UK, France by 2030, says report

    The economy has been billed to overtake France and United Kingdom by 2050, PwC economists have forecast in its latest report: titled: The world in 2050: Will the shift in global economic power continue?

    According to the report, China will be the largest economy by 2030, while India may challenge US for second place by 2050 while forecasting that the emerging economies of Nigeria, Indonesia and Mexico could push the UK and France out of the top ten economies of the world by 2050 provided they are able to build their institutions to global standards, diversify their economies and sustain growth friendly policies.

    It stated further that Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia are set to be notable risers with Colombia and Poland growing more strongly by 2050 than Brazil and Russia.

    The PwC Nigeria’s Chief Economist and co-author of the report, Mr. Andrew S. Nevin, said: “Over the past decade, Nigeria has boasted superior economic growth and, with the right reforms and investments, Nigeria could become one of the world’s leading economies by 2030, with further progress by 2050.

    “Nigeria’s potential advantages for future growth include a large consumer market, a strategic geographic location, and a young and highly entrepreneurial population.’’

    With drop in oil price which could thwart this possibility as a result of the attendant pressure on fiscal policy, he said Nigeria will need to manage the oil price decline effectively at all levels of government and create a sustainable platform for diversification into the sectors.

    “We are all aware of the significant headwinds created by the rapid drop in the oil price, putting pressure on the fiscal and monetary systems, as well as reducing economic growth in the short term. To achieve its long-term economic potential, Nigeria will need to manage the oil price decline effectively at all levels of government and create a sustainable platform for diversification into the sectors that we know will drive the economy in the future – including power, agriculture, manufacturing, telecoms, hospitality and real estate,” said Nevin.

    With a long-term projections of potential GDP growth up to 2050 for 32 of the largest economies in the world, covering 84 per cent of total global GDP, the PwC report projects insist that the current global economic power shift away from the established advanced economies in North America, Western Europe and Japan will continue over the next 35 years – despite a projected slowdown in Chinese growth after around 2020.

    Insisting that the world economy is projected to grow at an average of just over three per cent per annum from 2014-50 – doubling in size by 2037 and nearly tripling by 2050, the report which tipped China as the largest economy by 2030 on any measure, however stated that it expect China’s growth rate to slow markedly after around 2020 as its population ages, high investment rate runs into diminishing marginal returns.

    It stated that China needs to rely more on innovation than copying to boost productivity. “Eventual reversion to the global average has been common for past high growth economies such as Japan and South Korea and we expect China to follow suit,” it stated.

    Other highlights from PwC’s projections are that India has the potential to sustain its higher growth rate for longer and become a $10 trillion economy by around 2020 in purchasing power (PPP) terms, or around 2035 at market exchange rates.

    This prediction is however, predicated  on India making sustained progress on infrastructure investment, institutional reforms and boosting education levels across the whole population while emerging  economies like Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico have the potential to be larger than the UK and France by 2030, with Indonesia possibly rising as high as fourth place in the world rankings by 2050 if it can sustain growth-friendly policies the report added.

     

     

  • FIFA wants Argentina, Uruguay to host Centenary World Cup

    FIFA wants the centenary World Cup in 2030 to be jointly staged by Uruguay and Argentina, who met in the final of the inaugural tournament, Argentine Football Association President, Julio Grondona, said on Thursday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that in 1930, Uruguay, the then double Olympic champions, beat Argentina 4-2 in the showpiece match at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo in front of more than 80,000 enthusiastic soccer fans.

    “FIFA wishes to celebrate the World Cup’s 100 years in Argentina and Uruguay, I can confirm that,” said Grondona, the Senior Vice-President of world soccer’s governing body.

    “An agreement has been signed by the two associations (AFA and Uruguay’s AUF). What will we do? We’ll see but surely something of quality,” Grondona told Argentina’s Radio 10.

    The only co-hosted World Cup finals so far were organised by Japan and South Korea in 2002.

    Any future joint bid must have one organising committee, unlike the 2002 Asian World Cup which had separate Japanese and Korean committees.

    The 2014 FIFA World Cup will take place in Brazil.

    Russia won the vote for the 2018 tournament and Qatar, a tiny nation with no soccer pedigree and extremely high temperatures in mid-year, was controversially chosen to stage the 2022 tournament.

    A joint Argentine-Uruguayan bid for 2030 is backed by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

    Uruguay’s Tourism and Sports Ministry formally approached FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter at the start of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa to propose the joint bid.

    Blatter has since said on several occasions, especially during visits to Latin America, that he liked the idea of the centenary tournament being held by Uruguay and Argentina.

    However, the voting system has changed since controversy surrounded the decision to award the finals to Russia and Qatar.

    The 24-man executive committee had voted on bids until last year but now the 209-member FIFA Congress will decide which countries host future World Cup tournaments.