Stakeholders in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector have expressed deep concern over the country’s overwhelming dependence on imported solar components, urging the Federal Government to prioritise local manufacturing, raw material development, and strict product standardisation to grow the industry.
Speaking at the Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) in Abuja, Chairman of LPV Technologies, Nzan Ogbe, lamented that about 80 to 90 per cent of components used in solar installations are imported from countries like China and Vietnam, a trend he said was stifling competitiveness and discouraging investment.
Ogbe noted that Nigeria had imported solar-related components worth over N200 billion this year alone — funds that, if channelled properly, could have revitalised domestic production.
He criticised inconsistent trade policies that allow fully assembled solar panels to enter duty-free while local assemblers face multiple levies and commissions, making their operations unviable.
He also called on the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to identify and develop local sources of key inputs such as lithium and other minerals critical to solar production, stressing that “the real value lies in building an upstream supply chain.”
Co-founder and CEO of Arnergy, Femi Adeyemo, emphasised the need for Nigeria’s solar industry to align with global quality standards such as IEC 61730 for panel safety and IEC 61701 for durability.
He warned against the proliferation of substandard products, some of which are falsely relabelled to inflate their capacity.
Chief Technical Assistant to the Minister of Power, Adedayo Olowoniyi, said government-backed loans for the power sector must be tied to job creation in Nigeria rather than benefiting foreign manufacturers.
Similarly, InfraCorp CEO, Lazarus Angbazo, called for long-term naira-based financing and innovative equity solutions to support local renewable energy firms.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed that the National Assembly was developing legislative measures to strengthen local content in renewable energy manufacturing and establish credit guarantees and concessionary funding schemes to stimulate domestic production and job creation.