Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the USA Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources (SED) has expressed the United States’ desire to become Nigeria’s preferred partner in energy transition, energy access, and energy security.
Pyatt made this statement on June 19th ,2023 , the Secretary highlighted that the US government is actively facilitating a strategic energy dialogue (SED) involving all participants in Nigeria’s energy sector.
Moreover, Pyatt emphasized that the SED is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. It aims to establish mechanisms for continuous exchange and collaboration between experts and stakeholders in the energy sector.
By fostering this strategic energy dialogue, the United States aims to strengthen its partnership with Nigeria and actively contribute to the country’s energy goals and initiatives.
“So, we are listening to what Nigeria’s concerns are while navigating issues around energy security, energy transition and energy access. Our experts are bringing the best partnership they can offer in this regard.
“It is a chance for the USA to share experiences from its own energy transition journey. But also, to build international partnerships. As I said today to President Tinubu, the USA wants to be Nigeria’s preferred partner in energy transition, security, and access.
“We know that Nigeria is a leader in the region, and they work with various partners around the world. But this is an opportunity to work more bilaterally. We have a strong corporate footprint here and we want to grow that footprint even further.”
He said that as US companies see President Tinubu and his government taking action on some of the difficult issues of the past like the exchange rate unification, they see more prospects for Nigeria and the US to do more and facilitate more private sector partnerships in Nigeria’s energy sector. According to him, the Joe Biden administration is committed to partnering with Nigeria in its energy sector and sees Nigeria as an important partner.
Pyatt also identified some areas where the US government is working to address similar energy transition issues like Nigeria. He highlighted the Energy Bureau Technical Assistance Program, which is focused on the decarbonization of fossil fuel production. He also cited the power sector program which focuses on working with countries and regions that are facing the challenge of shifting to renewable energy systems.
He said:
We have Nigeria as a founding partner for the Climate Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI), that role was announced last year, we rolled out CEDI during COP27 at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. But we have not made a lot of progress in terms of execution and implementation because we were waiting for the 2023 general elections to be conducted and a new government put in place. Now we can go back and hit the accelerator on the CEDI cooperation.”
Note that in September 2022, the United States Special Envoy on Climate Change, John Kerry signed the Climate Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI) with Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi under the Buhari administration.
Under the $12 billion initiative, Nigeria and the United States will work together to reduce carbon emissions in the country while exploring natural gas for industrialization and electricity supply and maximize the use of renewable energies, particularly solar energy and wind. The United States will also support Nigeria’s decarbonization plans and invest in smart agriculture technologies to foster food security.
Tech and energy context
According to Geoffrey R. Pyatt, tech and the energy sector are increasingly intertwined because so much about managing energy systems of the future is going to be digital and driven by tech, smart grids, the ability to use ubiquitous censors to do a much better job of maximizing the productivity of energy resources. He also said that tech operations run on energy which can become a driver for renewable energy growth in Nigeria.
He provided examples of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) that have committed to the use of 100% renewable energy in their operations. According to him, Nigeria has solar resources, space, and intensity enough to drive more renewable energy growth. He pointed out the need to build policy frameworks that incentivize the country’s renewable energy resources.
Electricity access in Nigeria
It is important to note that 86 million Nigerians are living without electricity access. While speaking on this issue, he pointed out that during his meeting with several power utilities, he understood that Nigeria’s electricity challenges have nothing to do with the generation capacity but with the distribution mechanism. According to him, it is important to recognize that all Nigerians do not live in big cities like Lagos and Abuja, but in countryside towns and rural areas. So, it is important to bring everyone into the energy ecosystem.
Energy innovators context
While addressing the fact that many energy innovators creating energy access solutions for those in rural areas are often ignored by the government and local investors, he said the US entrepreneurial ecosystem has survived this long because the government stayed out of the way.
He stated further that there is a reason Silicon Valey happened in California and not in Washington DC, the same applies to India where the tech ecosystem flourished more in Bangalore and Hyderabad and not in Delhi. He said the success of Nigerian tech entrepreneurs says a lot about the human capital potential in the country.
So, the energy sector innovators should expect a change in the narrative under the Tinubu administration. This is because in just a few weeks after the inauguration, the president has shown leadership in attempting to address long-standing issues that have stopped foreign investors from investing in Nigeria’s rich human capital
