A report has shown that Nigeria has the fastest renewable energy sector job growth that should more than double in 2023; jobs are expected to exceed 76,000, up from 32,000 in 2019, overtaking the oil and gas sector.
This is according to a report done by Power for All, the global campaign to end energy poverty, in collaboration with Clean Technology Hub Nigeria.
The report is titled “Powering Jobs Census 2022: The Energy Access Workforce Nigeria,” was launched on September 30.
According to a statement made available to Nigerian Tribune, the study shows Nige- ria has built a strong market position in decentralised renewable energy (DRE) and is poised to reap the benefits as it addresses energy poverty and rural unemployment.
According to the report, the DRE sector in Nigeria has been growing rapidly and delivering clean and affordable energy, particularly to remote rural communities and is now also a major source of good and stable jobs, nearly matching those in the county’s oil and gas sector.
The DRE sector, which includes pico-solar appliances, solar home systems (SHS), and commercial and industrial (C&I) standalone systems, currently employs 50,000 people compared to 65,000 in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Furthermore, the demand for DRE prod- ucts in the country is expected to create more than 76,000 new jobs by 2023. This is over twice the number of DRE jobs created in 2019 as reported in the Powering Jobs Census 2019: The Energy Access Workforce report.
“This report is coming at a very auspicious time because with the very recent release of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, the report provides a great opportunity for decisions makers in government as well as industry actors to apply a job and economic growth lens in implementing the plan. This #Power- ingJobs report makes this easier because it provides the data, and the numbers for what is possible when decentralized renewables is a core part of the transition,” notes Ifeoma Malo, CEO of Clean Technology Hub.
Malo told Nigerian Tribune that produc- ing the report involved “surveys sent out to local developers in Nigeria, over a period of three months with detailed questions.
“Each of the renewable energy companies or practitioners had to answer about 50 questions and the number of companies survived were over 100.”
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