Masdar, an Abu Dhabi-based state-owned clean energy company, has announced ambitions to invest in Nigeria as part of its Africa-wide penetration which aims to increase renewable energy capacity by 20,000 MW over the next 12 years.
Masdar had signed three agreements under the umbrella of Etihad 7, a UAE-led initiative that aims to raise public- and private-sector funds to invest in the development of Africa’s renewable energy sector and power about 100 million people across the continent by 2035.
Masdar's Executive Director of Clean Energy, Fawaz Al Muharrami, told The Guardian that Nigeria and other African countries are critical to the company's global expansion strategy, adding that conversations are underway regarding investment in Nigeria.
Masdar and McKinsey & Company on the sidelines of COP27, had released a paper titled “Africa’s Green Energy Revolution: Hydrogen’s role in unlocking Africa’s untapped renewables,” saying that Africa could capture as much as 10% of the global green hydrogen market.
According to the analysis, renewable energy could help Africa create up to 3.7 million jobs, contributing up to $120 billion to the continent's gross domestic product (GDP).
The organizations also revealed that Africa could be one of the most competitive sources of green hydrogen in the world, with a cost of $1.8 to $2.6 per kilogram (kg) in 2030, further decreasing to about $1.2 to $1.6 per kg by 2050 as hydrogen production technology matures and renewable energy costs continue to decline.
Proximity to demand centers in Europe and Asia also optimally positions the continent to build an export-oriented hydrogen sector, the report suggests.
Earlier this year, Masdar had signed a deal with Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water for the development of renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW, another 1,000 MW with Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development for the development of greenfield renewable projects and an agreement with Zambia’s Ministry of Energy, and Zambian national utility ZESCO Limited for the joint development of solar, wind, and hydroelectricity projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW, Muharrami said.
The company last year signed an agreement with TANESCO, Tanzania's sole electricity provider, to create renewable energy projects with a total capacity of up to 2,000 MW, he added.
Masdar, he claims, has already developed a significant foothold in Africa, with projects completed in Egypt, Mauritania, Seychelles, and Morocco.