NEWS

IBADAN, Nigeria--Work has begun in Nigeria on the construction of a solar-cell production factory aimed at increasing power supply in the West African country.

The factory will be one of the largest solar-cell production plants in Africa, and allow Nigeria to produce solar panels, according to the country's National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, or Naseni, which is behind the project.

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who on Friday performed the foundation-laying ceremony of the factory in Gora in the country's north-central Adamawa state, said Naseni's project puts Nigeria among the ranks of countries pushing the boundaries in the use of more climate-friendly alternative energy sources.

Major raw materials used in the production of solar cells--silicon and silica--are abundant in Nasarawa state, and the solar project will transform Nigeria's power and energy sector and boost the local economy, Mr. Osinbajo said.

The Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, approved last year, sets out Nigeria's pathway to decarbonization by 2060 and achieving universal energy access by 2030, with solar power surpassing gas as an energy source in Nigeria by 2035, he said.

With a population of about 200 million, Nigeria currently generates about 4,000 megawatts of power, which isn't enough to meet its needs, resulting in frequent blackouts in homes, offices and factories.