With a focus on renewable energy infrastructure, ECOWAS has committed to generating 0.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has vowed to install the infrastructure required to guarantee the achievement of the region’s renewable energy goal.
The regional authority stated that its goal is to produce 0.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 while speaking at the capacity building workshop for private sector actors on green hydrogen.
The region offers enormous potential for renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydrogen, and so on, according to Dr. Bruno Korgo, Regional Coordinator for Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen at the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL). According to Korgo, this potential provides a solid foundation for moving forward with green hydrogen production, as it is seen as the key to decarbonizing numerous industries globally.
According to him, the goal of the West African Green Hydrogen Policy is for the region to create 0.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 and 10 million tonnes annually by 2050. It is our heads of state who have approved this policy.
However, the ministries of energies must work to make it happen, which is why we are collaborating with the public and private sectors to achieve our objective. “Today, this special energy is thought to be the energy of the future.
The possibility for producing, utilizing, and exporting green hydrogen to other demand centers seems to present a chance for the West African region to begin considering green hydrogen right away in order to fully realize its potential and seize the impending green hydrogen demand energy market. Temitope Dina, the Assistant Director of Nigeria’s Ministry of Power, stated that the federal government is prepared to take advantage of green hydrogen’s enormous potential to promote West Africa’s environmental sustainability, energy security, and economic progress.
According to Dina, achieving this goal has required commitment, teamwork, and a clear grasp of the critical role that green hydrogen will play in the future of energy. “Green hydrogen is at the forefront of the global transition to clean energy,” says Dina. It promises to cut carbon emissions, diversify our energy sources, and promote creativity. “Green hydrogen has the potential to be a game-changer in our region because of its plentiful renewable energy resources. This might replicate our regional businesses and economy, provide employment, and significantly strengthen the economies of all of West Africa.
“We have a great opportunity to learn more about green hydrogen technology, investigate best practices, and forge the alliance required for the effective execution of green hydrogen policies and strategies with this workshop.”
Alhassan Dantata, the Executive Vice Chairman of SIDIL Energy Alternatives Limited, stated that green hydrogen is the world’s final hope for transitioning to clean energy. “Africa played different roles in the three past industrial revolutions, the role we played was that we were the catalyst because men and women were enslaved and our raw materials were taken away to develop other parts of the world,” stated Dantata, underscoring the importance of Africa’s role in reaching this milestone.
“The beautiful thing about this energy we are talking about is that you have to have your foot on the ground because Africa now has what you can’t take away,” he continued. It is impossible for you to take away the wind, sun, and water that we have. “The sun shines on us every day of the yearWe have wind because the northeast trade winds, which originate in the Sahara, constantly keep the wind mines operational around-the-clock, so we have no excuse. When it comes to green hydrogen, we ought to lead the way. Undersea connections should soon allow Africa to export electricity, just like bandwaves do now from Europe.
Since we have the sun, wind, and water, we need to be providing them with electricity. It is merely our desire. Can we work together and possess the necessary political will and mindset to make it happen? Based on my observations spanning three to four years, it appears that there are two major killer effects in Africa: religion and tribalism.
Africa will be fantastic if we can get past it. Lagos’s two-day program comes to a finish on Friday.
