At the US-Africa Business Forum (USABF) in Washington, D.C on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, the Federal Government and a U.S firm, Sun Africa LLC, the largest US renewable energy company operating in Africa, signed a development and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) implementation framework agreement for the construction of 5,000 MW of solar generation and 2,500 MWh of battery energy storage power plants for up to $10 billion investment from the US government.
According to a statement by Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the agreement was signed by Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Adam Cortese, CEO of Sun Africa, in the presence of Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden’s Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
In his address on Tuesday, December 13, President Muhammadu Buhari had said: “As part of the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy, we set the vision 30:30:30 which aims at achieving 30GW of electricity by 2030 with renewable energy contributing 30% of the energy mix” in the presence of President Biden and the world leaders, and sought the United States’ support to achieve it.
Sun Africa, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (“S&W”), a leading US and international solar EPC company, and the Nigerian government have been working on the development of transformation grid-connected and mini-grids solar projects in multiple locations, including interconnection, electrification and smart meters infrastructure. To ensure the broadest and most comprehensive approach to access electricity, Sun Africa is also implementing solar cabins and solar home systems where the mini-grids are not economically viable.
The project will be constructed in different phases across the six geopolitical zones and will provide clean, reliable and affordable electricity to more than 30 million.
