The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Energy

  • Chinese seeks incentives in transport, energy

    A Chinese manufacturer has urged the government to back its investment drive tin backward integration with policy incentives. He said many producers were interested in the domestication of their production processes in the transportation and energy sectors.

    Speaking at the official opening of the China Homelife Fair Nigeria, Chief Operating Officer, Meorient Internationa, Binu Pillai, said more opportunities have started opening from the bilateral ties between Nigeria and China. More Chinese firms are embarking on export initiatives in local plants.

    He said: “We are particularly looking at the transportation and energy sector as priority sectors. Our manufacturers are looking forward to the incentives that the market can offer. It could be land, repatriation of profit in terms of if you bring any raw materials that are used for manufacturing can there be any tax exemptions? So basically how they can leverage.”

    Pillai believes with the $60 billion recently offered by the Chinese government in aid and loans for Africa, a higher scale of collaboration will be witnessed in business interactions of the two countries.

     

  • AfDB okays $12b for energy

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $12 billion to its New Deal on Energy for Africa programme.

    Sub-Saharan Africa  has 14 per cent of the world’s population and accounts for four per cent of global energy investment. Analysts at the bank note that several countries, including Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana and Kenya, are on track to reaching universal electricity access by 2030.

    Public, private and civil society stakeholders, including government agencies, development partners and investors in the energy sector in a workshop at the weekend, discussed the technical, commercial, regulatory and financial issues in Africa’s fast-growing energy market.

    The inaugural edition of the Africa Energy Market Place (AEMP) brought together more than 300 participants and featured case studies from five countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia.

    Representatives from each country delivered presentations on the accomplishments, investment opportunities, challenges, and the long-term outlook for their  energy industries.

    AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, underscored the dire situation of Africa’s energy environment. “Africa has a lot of energy potential but potential doesn’t create anything … We cannot continue to accept Africa being referred to as the ‘dark continent’. We need to act speedily to accelerate our plans to light up and power Africa,” Adesina said.

    Participants at the AEMP had insightful and thought-provoking discussions in country-focused workgroup sessions, looking at identifying quick wins in sustainable financing models, commercial and investment prospects, energy access and efficiency and regulatory reforms.

    Discussions also focused on governance, risk management, beyond-the-grid and renewable energy solutions, training and capacity building.

    The AEMP is an industry-wide, collaborative platform convened by the African Development Bank to address barriers to mobilizing and scaling-up private investment into the energy sector by bringing together key stakeholders in the continent’s energy sector. Specifically, it seeks to address Africa’s dismal energy and electricity production and consumption, which currently stands at 150kWh/capita.

    Declaring the event open, Jacques Chevalier, the Director of Cabinet of Côte d’Ivoire’s Petrol and Renewable Energy Development Ministry observed that energy plays a critical role in Africa’s economic transformation, particularly in improving the living conditions of Africans. “Côte d’Ivoire is fully committed to total electrification of the country and we welcome the foresight and vision of the African Development Bank, especially with respect to the Bank’s Light Up and Power Africa initiative,” Chevalier said.

    The issues discussed during the AEMP are based on the latest research by the Bank and on inputs received from governments, according to Amadou Hott, African Development Bank’s Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate and Green Energy complex. The next AEMP meeting to review the progression of projects and investment opportunities in the sector will be on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) scheduled in Johannesburg, South Africa in November 2018.

     

  • Firm lifts local content in maritime, energy

    An indigenous logistics firm, Fortune Global Shipping and Logistics Limited, has unveiled plans to showcase its strength in the global market.

    Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Eric Opah, said the company had taken advantage of local content development policy to deliver logistics services and expand its coverage to the oil and gas sector.

    He decried the failure of logistics firms to expand to the global market, urging the operators to brace to fly the Nigerian flag higher in the international market.

    Opah said his company had taken the bull by the horn by establishing a branch in Houston, United States, and in Ghana.

    “Today, we are expanding to other countries. We have discovered that Nigerian brands do not usually extend to global markets. Most logistics companies only rely on what they can do within Nigeria. They don’t get to the helms of affairs internationally where decisions are being made.

    “Foreign multinationals are here in Nigeria, but we don’t have our own brand in that market. So, Fortune Global has taken the bull by the horn, and expanded its operations to Houston, United States. We are also in Ghana, as part of our vision to look out to strategic places to support in energy logistics,” he said.

    Opah said the firm also played a critical role in building the Egina Floating Production and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, which sailed into Nigeria some weeks ago for further integration.

    According to him, Fortune Global Shipping handled the clearance of the FPSO and the export of the pressure tank from Lagos to Goje in South Korea.

    The managing director noted that Fortune Global Shipping has capacity to handle over 2000 TEUs of cargo volume and over one million tonnes of airfreights yearly.

    He said the company had recorded some milestones in the Forcados Yokri and Shell’s FOID, among other projects in the oil, gas and maritime sectors.

    Opah noted that the industry has not grown due to factors, such as implementation of regulations and financial support.

  • Total ‘committed to better energy’

    Total ‘committed to better energy’

    Total Nigeria Plc has said the building of a hybrid solar system in Lagos is part of its commitment to better energy.

    The company said the high-end infrastructure would reduce energy costs by at least 30 per cent.

    The hybrid solar system was inaugurated in Lagos on October 24, last year.

    Total also installed at its corporate head office in Lagos last December, another system which utilises 333 Sunpower PV modules, which has also reduced the energy costs by 25 per cent.

    The installation was inaugurated on December 9, last year.

    In a statement, the organisation said: “Both solutions are complete hybrid solar photovoltaic solutions, which require a proper integration and perfect synchronisation of the different sources of electricity (solar panels, diesel generators and grid). It ensures a flawless stability of the plant’s micro-grid at any given time. This has in turn also helped to optimise the cost of energy.

    “In spite of space constraints, Total Nigeria Plc was able to achieve these capacities, using high efficiency Sunpower photovoltaic modules. The installation of the 109 kWp was achieved on an area of 550m2, while the 118 kWp of solar power was achieved on an area of 600m2 with only 360 modules. These panels have 40 years lifetime expectancy.

  • Total ‘committed to better energy’

    Total Nigeria Plc has said the building of a hybrid solar system in Lagos is part of its commitment to better energy.

    The company said the high-end infrastructure would reduce energy costs by at least 30 per cent.

    The hybrid solar system was inaugurated in Lagos on October 24, last year.

    Total also installed at its corporate head office in Lagos last December, another system which utilises 333 Sunpower PV modules, which has also reduced the energy costs by 25 per cent.

    The installation was inaugurated on December 9, last year.

    In a statement, the organisation said: “Both solutions are complete hybrid solar photovoltaic solutions, which require a proper integration and perfect synchronisation of the different sources of electricity (solar panels, diesel generators and grid). It ensures a flawless stability of the plant’s micro-grid at any given time. This has in turn also helped to optimise the cost of energy.

    “In spite of space constraints, Total Nigeria Plc was able to achieve these capacities, using high efficiency Sunpower photovoltaic modules. The installation of the 109 kWp was achieved on an area of 550m2, while the 118 kWp of solar power was achieved on an area of 600m2 with only 360 modules. These panels have 40 years lifetime expectancy.

    “This represents another step towards Total Nigeria’s (J1) commitment to better energy, as it is estimated to cut its CO2 emissions by at least 91 tonnes per year for its lubricant plant and 83 tonnes annually for its head office.

    “Aside from these new projects, Total Nigeria Plc now has about 15 service stations powered by solar nationwide, as well as a full range of solar home solutions offered to power homes and businesses across the country.”

  • Why we should invest in solar energy

    Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, its pluses and minuses. So, naturally, there must be a number of solar power advantages and solar power disadvantages too.

    Solar power advantages

    There are many solar power advantages worth noting. In no particular order (well, perhaps simply the order in which they come to mind), here are some of the top advantages:

    Solar power helps to slow/stop global warming. Global warming threatens the survival of human society, as well as the survival of countless species. Luckily researches have led to solar panels that create electricity without producing global warming pollution. Solar power is now very clearly the beat to the global warming crisis.

    Solar power saves society billions or trillions of naira. Even long before society’s very existence is threatened by global warming, within the coming decades, global warming is projected to cost society so much money if left unabated. So, even ignoring the very long-term threat of societal suicide, fighting global warming with solar power will likely save society billions or even trillions of dollars.

    Solar power saves you money. The installation maybe expensive but at the end it is cheaper.

    Beyond solar PV panels, it is worth noting that it saves money in about a dozen other ways as well — with proper planning and household design choices.

    Solar power provides energy reliability. The rising and setting of the sun is extremely consistent. All across the world, we know exactly when it will rise and set every day of the year. While clouds may be a bit less predictable, we do also have fairly good seasonal and daily projections for the amount of sunlight that will be received in different locations. All in all, this makes solar power an extremely reliable source of energy.

    Solar power provides energy security. On top of the above reliability benefit, no one can go and buy the sun or turn sunlight into a monopoly. Combined with the simplicity of solar panels, this also provides the notable solar power advantage of energy security, something the US military has pointed out for years, and a major reason why it is also putting a lot of its money into the development and installation of solar power systems.

    Solar power provides energy independence. Similar to the energy security boost, solar power provides the great benefit of energy independence. Again, the “fuel” for solar panels cannot be bought or monopolised. It is free for all to use. Once you have solar panels on your roof, you have an essentially independent source of electricity that is all yours. This is important for individuals, but also for cities, counties, states, countries, and even companies.

    Solar power creates jobs. As a source of energy, solar power is a job-creating powerhouse. Money invested in solar power creates two to three times more jobs than money invested in coal or natural gas.

    So, there are seven big solar power advantages that you should remember and share. There are actually disadvantages, but I think we can leave it at that for today. Let’s move on to solar power disadvantages….

    Solar power disadvantages

    Solar power disadvantages are actually not so plentiful. In fact, there is only one notable disadvantage to solar power that I can think of. That disadvantage is that the sun does not shine 24 hours a day. When the sun goes down or is heavily shaded, solar PV panels stop producing electricity. If we need electricity at that time, we have to get it from some other source. In other words, we could not be 100% powered by solar panels. At the very least, we need batteries to store electricity produced by solar panels for use sometime later.

    However, there are a couple of key things to note regarding this solar power disadvantage. Firstly, the sun actually does shine when we need electricity most. As humans (not vampires), our days more or less follow the movement of the sun. Society more or less wakes up when the sun rises. At the time of the sun’s greatest height and visibility, humans tend to be most active. At this time, we are of course using much more electricity than in the middle of the night, so electricity is in greater demand. (This also makes electricity more expensive in the middle of the day, making electricity produced from solar panels more valuable.)

    Another important point worth noting on this front is that, with storage, solar power could theoretically supply the world with all of its electricity needs. In fact, nothing on earth compares to the energy potential of sunshine.

  • Fed Govt’s renewable energy projects: An overview

    President Muhammadu Buhari told the National Assembly that the Federal Government would launch the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017 to finance renewable energy projects.

    The President, while presenting the 2018 Budget proposal, said: “I am pleased to inform this distinguished assembly that the Federal Government will be launching the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017.

    “The bond will be used to finance renewable energy projects. We are very excited about this development, as it will go a long way in solving many of our energy challenges, especially in the hinterland.’’

    As a follow-up, the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Green Bond Advisory Group, on December 14, organised the Nigeria Green Bond Investors Forum in Abuja and Lagos.

    Stakeholders at the forum include: Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Others are: DMO, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the World Bank and Chapel Hill Denham Group as well as representatives of private sector organisations.

    The DMO Director-General, Ms. Patience Oniha, said  the forum was organised to educate prospective investors in the Green Bond programme to know the benefits of investing in green bond projects.

    Ms. Oniha said that the Federal Government would soon issue N10.6 billion green bonds to finance renewable energy projects in efforts to protect the environment.

    The director-general said the Federal Government acted to borrow the N10.6 billion, in line with its borrowing agenda contained in the 2017 budget.

    According to her, more funds will be allocated to finance green bond projects in the subsequent budgets.

    Oniha said that the bonds would be used to finance three renewable energy projects, which were Renewable Energy Micro-Utilities Programme, Re-energising Education Programme and Afforestation Programme.

    Also speaking, Mrs. Halimat Bwari, the Deputy Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of the Environment, said that N142 billion was required to finance renewable energy projects in the country.

    She said that the ministry decided to issue the green bonds as an alternative source of funding because of the huge capital outlay which was required to finance the nation’s renewable energy projects.

    According to her, the Green Bond programme would boost the nation’s economy and protect the environment.

    Besides, Mrs. Bwari said that the ministry had inaugurated five low-carbon growth projects.

    She listed the projects as the Rural Energy Access, the Great Green Wall Programme, the National Clean Stoves Scheme, the Clean Energy Transportation Scheme and the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project.

    Mrs. said that the projects would go a long way to reduce carbon emissions in Nigeria, while facilitating the country’s efforts to meet its commitments in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

    As part of efforts to promote renewable projects in the country, the Federal Government has called for public-private sector collaboration in efforts to promote the use of clean cook stoves.

    The Minister of State for the Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, while speaking at the 2017 Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum in Abuja, solicited the partnership to develop domestic market for made-in-Nigeria clean cook stoves.

    The minister, who underscored the need to develop and expand the market, emphasised that the government and the private sector ought to work together in growing the market for made-in-Nigeria clean cook stoves.

    According to him, clean cooking techniques constitute a priority area in efforts to achieve the goals of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which aims at reducing carbon emissions in the country.

    “It also aims to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases; clean cooking energy for all is not only possible but a right for our citizens,’’ he said.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki stressed the need to step up activities and actions  aimed at increasing the use of clean energy by households in the country.

    He said that the citizens’ consumption of over 500 million kilogrammes of firewood every day was an enormous strain on the nation’s forest resources.

    Besides, Saraki said that nearly 65,000 people died every year in Nigeria due to household air pollution, while more than four million people died because of household air pollution globally annually.

    According to him, more than 50 per cent of these fatalities are children and women.

    The senate president, who underscored the need to increase the usage of clean cooking stoves by households, said that the stoves would save lives and help to create additional jobs for people in the country.

    A stove manufacturer, Mr Biodun Olaore, who is the Country Director, Envirofit Nigeria, urged the government to create public awareness on the menace of indoor air pollution and deforestation to enable Nigerians to embrace the clean cooking technology.

  • AfDB invests in green energy

    AfDB invests in green energy

    The African Development Bank has achieved a 100 per cent investment in renewable energy in 2017, a major landmark in its commitment to clean energy and efficiency.

    Power generation projects with a cumulative 1,400 megawatts exclusively from renewables were approved during the year, with plans to increase support for renewable energy projects in 2018 under the New Deal on Energy for Africa.

    AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina said: “We are clearly leading on renewable energy. We will help Africa unlock its full energy potential, while developing a balanced energy mix to support industrialisation. Our commitment is to ensure 100 per cent climate screening for all Bank financed projects.’’

    The share of renewable energy projects as a portion of the Bank’s portfolio of power generation investments increased from 14 per cent in 2007 to 2011, to 64 per cent in 2012 to 2016.

    The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) whose goal is to deliver 300 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in 2030 and 10 GW by 2020, is now based within the Bank, as requested by African Heads of State and Government. The G7 has promised to commit US$10 billion to support the initiative, which came out of COP21 and subsequently approved by the African Union.

    On November 8, 2017, the African Bank Group approved its Second Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020 (CCAP2) as a clear message of its commitment to helping African countries mobilise resources to support the implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions of Regional Member Countries, in ways that will not hinder development.

  • Lagos reinstates commitment to solar energy

    Lagos reinstates commitment to solar energy

    \state Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olawale Oluwo has reiterated the commitment of the state government to promoting developmental programmes that will stimulates business development, industrial growth with relevance in education, economic, social and medical activities.

    Oluwo made this known at the 2017 Solarex Nigeria Conference organized by Paysolar247™ Renewable Energy Advocacy Project – (REAP) with support from ASTEVEN Group and VIJU Industries Ltd, held recently at LCCI, Lagos.

    Tagged: ‘Shaping the Future of Solar & Renewable Energy in Nigeria,’ it brought together stakeholders in the Renewable Energy sector gathered together to discuss the future of Solar and Renewable Energy in Nigeria.

    He said that Lagos state government in 2016 – 2017 completed solar energy systems ranging from 5kW to 15kW. These solar power systems are used for powering classrooms, security lights, educational and health facilities across the state.

    Oluwo, who was represented by Hakeem Momoh noted that the need for Solar Energy system to be deployed as mini grid for the generation of power demand and requirements, because they are reliable, cost effective in terms of maintenance and pollution free.

    According to Chief Executive Officer of Solarex Nigeria, Mr. Sidney Akinmoladun, said that inadequate power supply is no doubts putting a brake on Nigeria’s development. About 90million Nigerians have no access to electricity, while the other half make do with generators, as the grid is failing their needs and grossly inefficient.

    He stated that government at all levels must do much more than just talk,  provide access to finance for both developers and consumers, greater awareness campaign, create policies and programmes for better participation in the industry and establish processes & due-diligence that curbs against sub-standard products and projects.

  • College seeks investment in solar energy

    The Federal Government has been urged to invest more in solar energy to meet up with the electricity challenges.

    At the End of the Year/Graduation of ABITECH Engineering College in Ikorodu, Timothy Obano, the Chief Executive Officer, said the potential of solar in Nigeria as a source of power is “absolutely enormous.”

    Obano said the solar energy, inverter and other trainings in the College, is one of the renewable training schemes designed to generate employment for the unemployed graduates.

    He urged graduating students to put their training into good use by also creating employment.

    “This is our modest contribution to development and improvement of our energy sector, so I urge the graduates to become vibrant employers of labour that will positively affect this generation,” he said.

    He said lack of conventional electricity infrastructure paves way for rapid deployment of solar.

    “In Nigeria, for instance, there’s currently an energy deficit of 170,000 megawatts, the majority of which can and should be filled with solar energy,” he said.

    Debunking claims that solar power and inverter are expensive, Obano explained that the recent innovations in battery storage and the falling cost of solar panel technology had made solar increasingly accessible in Nigeria and beyond.

    He also assured customers that his company gives 30 years guarantee on both solar and inverter system assembled by his company.

    He expressed optimism that in future many Nigerians would accept the alternative source of power, adding that solar energy is fully accepted as a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly energy source.

    ABITECH’s Head of Electrical and Solar Department, Abah Dominic Ogwuche said the college has empowered many youths through trainings in solar energy and computer skills acquisition.