Coal to Power Initiative: Nebo promises Nigerians sustained efforts.

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians and would-be investors in the power sector of its commitment to the coal to power initiative, aimed at utilizing the abundant coal reserves which lie across nine States in Nigeria.

While speaking on Thursday February 20, 2014 during the visit of the ETA Zuma Group, Nebo said there is seeming confusion over the quantity of coal and gas resources available in Nigeria, as people sometimes argue as to which of these resources Nigeria is most endowed with.

The Minister stated that Nigeria must pursue its energy mix strategy now to guarantee its security, as it stands, at least 30% of its requirement should be provided by coal, while also using the opportunity to call on investors to catch in, to take advantage of this gap. Nebo expressed satisfaction with the giant strides recorded by the indigenous company – ETA Zuma Energy Group, just as he said he is happy about the quality of exploration data provided by the company, a pointer to the company’s seriousness.

Furthermore, he said that the 380m tonnes of high grade coal available for exploration have shown that Zuma has enough proven reserves to service power plants for a minimum of 30 years, also informing the company of a ready market for all the coal that could be mined as coal can equally be used for domestic purposes.

The Minister counseled that the security of a nation’s energy mix is important, that is why the Nigerian government will leave no stone unturned to fully utilize its coal – to – power potentials. He used the occasion to call on other investors desirous of investing in coal – to – power not to hesitate as this is the time to invest for bumper harvest tomorrow.

Earlier in his presentation, Chairman of the group, Innocent Ezuma assured Nigerians that the first phase of the project will attract investment of 3 billion Dollars. He said that his plant will use clean coal technology known as Circulating Fludiced Bed Technology (CFB), which meets World Bank requirement, as it has permissible emission level.

Innocent Ezuma said financing his project has reached advanced stage, just as he said construction will last 3 – 4 years when it kicks off in the 4th quarter of  2014.
Located in Itobe – Kogi State, the on grid coal power plant is currently developing 1,200MW installed capacity with plans to expand to 3,000MW and has reserves that can last for a period of 30 years.
He assured that when the plan is fully operational, it would provide employment for over 10,000 Nigerians.