The Federal Government is planning to generate 30 per cent of the electricity needed in the country from coal. President Jonathan Goodluck made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at a one-day workshop on the 'Solid Minerals Sector Development.' He presided over the conference which was held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.
The workshop was organised to attract the commitments of stakeholders to the solid minerals sector and make it a driver for job, growth, industrialisation and wealth creation.
Already, a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on coal to power had been signed for the development of Ezinmo Coal Block in Enugu and a 1,000 megawatts coal power generating plant. The MoU was signed yesterday between the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and HTGPacific Energy Consortium for the development of the Ezinmo Coal Blocks. President Jonathan specifically said: "It is our intention that 30 per cent of our electricity generation should come from coal given the available environmentally friendly technology.
"Nigeria is endowed with abundant coal reserves of the required quality necessary for power generation and there is no reason why we should not explore the sector.
Speaking on the MoU, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said it was on the utilisation of the mining licence, granted by the Federal Government for the Ezinmo Coal Block. He said the licence was granted to an indigenous company with a Chinese partner, HTG-Pacific Energy Consortium, for the exploitation and mining of the coal block at Ezinmo.
Nebo said Ezinmo is a very large coal block which ranges from Enugu State to Benue State. He said beyond the mining of the coal block, the company would build 1, 000 megawatts power plant, which made the agreement coal to power all the way. The minister said the coal power plant would be cited at the same location with the mine, specifically, Nsukka, thereby saving the cost of transportation.
He said after the signing of the MoU, his ministry would intensify efforts at ensuring that the company gets a Power Purchase Agreement, PPA, that would authorise them to build the coal power plant.
Also speaking at the occasion, Chairman of Pacific Energy Consortium, Dr Adedeji Adeleke, assured that the companies would commence exploration immediately with the signing of the MoU. Adeleke said the estimated investments for developing of the coal mine and the building of the power plant would cost about $3.7 billion (about N590 billion).
In a presentation on the Overview of the Solid Minerals Sector in Nigeria, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sada, said mining spans over 2, 400 years in the country. He said organised mining, however, started in 1902 which resulted in Nigeria becoming the first largest producer and exporter of tin and the eighth largest producer and exporter of columbite. Sada attributed the decline in the mining sector to the nationalisation policy of government in the 70s.
He said the policy led to the departure of the major mining companies due to unfavourable policies and the neglect of the sector by successive governments. The minister said with the efforts of the Jonathan's administration, recent exploration activities indicated the occurrence of 44 solid mineral resources. He said a total of 4, 125 extant mineral licences are presently held by operators following the revocation of non-performing ones.
The minister said the sector had continuously recorded annual increases in revenue receipt. He identified challenges of the sector to include lack of adequate mineral projects with verifiable geosciences data and lack of proper fiscal regime.
He said the sector also has the challenge of nonavailability of adequate professional and skilled local manpower and unequipped inspectorate to ensure safe and environmentally friendly mining activities. Vice-President Namadi Sambo also assured that the impediments of infrastructure, particularly in the area of rail and water transportation, are being addressed by government.
National Mirror
Well whatever would improve electricity in Nigeria is what we need from our leaders right now. I hope it improves it though!