China to partner Nigeria on renewable energy

The Federal Government is set to partner the People’s Republic of China on renewable clean energy that will boost electricity supply to rural parts of Nigeria.

This was disclosed during a visit by Mr Ji Yuxin, Representative of China’s Principal Surveyor of Wind Energy, to Mohammed Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation on Friday in Abuja.

The proposed partnership, according to Yuxin, is also expected to build and upgrade centres of excellence in renewable energy technologies across the country.

These include: green energy, solar, wind, hydro, bio-energy, energy efficiency and management.

Abdullahi noted that prior to the visit, the ministry was engaged in discussions regarding the MoU with the Chinese Engineering Corporation.

He said the MoU would be a welcome development particularly in the areas of exchange of knowledge, ideas and equipment with some selected universities in the country focusing on technology.

The minister also received on behalf of the ministry, a donation of solar panel equipment from the Department of Commerce of Yunan Province and Kunming Engineering Corporation Ltd of the People’s Republic of China.

Abdullahi also stated that the support received from China was going to help to stem the tide of rural- urban migration in Nigeria.

He said the ministry would appoint a committee to look at the process of selecting beneficiaries in the rural areas to see how they could be deployed.

Earlier, Yuxin had said that the donation was in line with the promotion of green technology in rural communities in Africa.

He added that the donation was a project that aimed at providing the solution of electricity shortages in rural areas, where the national grid is not accessible.

(NAN)