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At Power Nigeria conference, hope rises for energy efficiency

By Emeka Nwachukwu
25 September 2018   |   4:13 am
Federal Government’s plan to move away from reliance on fossil fuel and add 13 gigawatts of off-grid solar power by 2030 may succeed if the vision of the 2018...

[File] Babatunde Fashola

Federal Government’s plan to move away from reliance on fossil fuel and add 13 gigawatts of off-grid solar power by 2030 may succeed if the vision of the 2018 Power Nigeria exhibition and conference becomes reality.

The three-day event scheduled for between today and Thursday, September 27 in Lagos, will attract decision makers, business leaders, experts and trade professionals in the energy value chain to brainstorm on the latest trends in the sector.

Its organisers say delegates would discuss mini-grids initiatives, smart metres, solar projects and the implementation of block chain to provide energy in Nigeria and the African continent where over 600 million people lack access to electricity.

Earlier, Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said: “Africa has trillions standard cubic feet of natural gas reserves, billions of barrels of crude oil reserves and billions of tons of coal; but Africa has even greater abundance of renewal energy resources.

“Unfortunately, of the nearly 1.5 billion people estimated to lack electricity supply globally, half live in Africa, while Nigeria is estimated to have over 90 million people without access to power, according to the World Bank.”

However, in dealing with the challenge, the Federal Government had announced that it would start producing electricity through coal.

This, it said, is aimed at ensuring that coal-powered plant contribute to the projected 30 per cent power mix by 2030, which will cost about $3.5 billion yearly.

Worried by the continued destruction of oil pipelines that has contributed to power outages in the country, the Federal Government has made plans to provide goal-generated electricity.

“I think it’s simplistic to begin to separate renewable energy from fossil fuel. These issues will be followed up at Power Nigeria, as the quest to improve power supply in the country continues,” Fashola said.

Speaking ahead of the event, Exhibition Manager at Informa Industrial Group, Sheetij Taneja, in a statement noted that it was important to bring together industry experts annually to explore the potential of investing in efficient power generation.

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