The Federal Government has been advised to devote the over $2 billion investment from renewable energy sector into domestic solar panel manufacturing.
Director, Institute of Climate Change Studies, Energy and Environment Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Prof Godwin Ogechi Unachukwu, who gave the advice, noted that domestic manufacture of solar energy would create employment, reduce the cost of solar panels and instruments, increase income and general living standard of Nigerians as well transform the national economy.
Speaking with with New Telegraph over the weekend, the professor of mechanical engineering also said there must be accountability and judicious use of the fund.
President Bola Tinubu recently revealed that Nigeria attracted over $2 billion in investment in the renewable energy sector, making it a fast-growing sector in the economy.
He spoke at the opening session of the recent African Natural Resources & Energy Investment Summit, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
Tinubu, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, reassured of the commitment of his administration to continue to attract more private sector involvement in the renewable energy space.
He said: “In leveraging opportunities in the renewable energy space, Nigeria has attracted over $2 billion in investment in the renewable energy sector, making it a fast-growing sector in the economy.
“Our commitment is to continue this trajectory and attract more private sector involvement in the renewable energy space, including manufacturing locally produced solar panels and batteries.”
Unachukwu said it was encouraging information that FG attracted over $2 billion in investment for renewable energy.
He said: “And probably look at the issue of not importing everything. Let’s have one area we can say we have advantage in this. Produce it locally instead of importing all the components from outside the country.
“So that’s another area the government can really, you know, use this money in their tracking to do. If it is used very judiciously, focus on one area, maybe the battery. “I remember the lithium ion battery.
If we focus on local production of the battery, that type of battery used in solar, that would be a great deal because we can produce the panels now. The technology and infrastructure is quite, you know, money involved.
“It involves a lot of costs. But in the area of battery production, lithium ion batteries, we can. So, again, in the area of the lighting fixtures, the ones we have today, the LEDs, light emitting diodes, we can see if we can begin to produce those components locally.
“As we used to have 10 bulbs produced here in this country. We can have such factories because a lot of everybody now, as it were, is turning to what we call energy bulbs.
That would be a good one. If the government should focus on that area, that will be quite great.” The don advised the government to form cooperative societies for market people and provide solar energy to them.
He added that there must be an energy audit for the market people to actually determine their needs. He said: “If it happens, then what they should do is to utilise the money judiciously.
So that from where they got it, those who give the money would want to see what you use, what the outcome is, whether it was actually used to, you know, perform. I’ve been unsure what it was meant to do. So it’s a good development.
“So what the government should do is to make sure that they utilise it to provide the required services to the people. If we are able to, if we’re able to see solar, you know, helping us kind of, you know, before we say that the private generators are, we call it the standby. The solar now becomes a good standby, as it were.
“Having a policy that will make solar available to our various markets, so that even though, yes, they operate in the day, they may not need so much light, but the number of them need power for some of their, you know, market issues.
Small scale industries, you size them, you know. “So if we’re able to get those things, the money utilised to remove certain sections or segments of society from the national grid, even in the rural areas, hospitals, we have hospitals, we have, you know, community centers.
“We have all these, you know, areas in the rural communities where solar will play a very important role. It will be a good one if the money supplies for, you know, these rural electrification issues.
But let me just say what I just said, what I forgot earlier to say.” The don urged the government to ensure that modalities are activated to manage solar wastes.
He added that there must be trained installers who will install the solar appliances to reduce accidents and damages.
He said: “The issue of waste recycling is very fundamental. Because at the end of the day, you have spent batteries. “You also have the solar panels. After some years, maybe 25 years, then what do you do with them?
So the government should be able to have a place where this process of recycling or recovery of valuable materials from the spent waste can be done. Again, government should ensure we have trained installers. Trained installers is very important.”
He noted that government already have policies in place but decried that though those policies are not really , actively engaging and helpful to the society. He said adopting energy mix was essential for more electricity access to Nigerians.
He said the different modes of energies in the country such as hydro, solar, wind etc were rather complimentary than competitive.
According to him, having energy mix will increase adaptability and access of energy to Nigerians. Unachukwu said: “We are aiming to really make the fossil energy area retired overnight.
So, the two, to my mind, will continue to run together. But all that we are trying to do is to reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere by the use of fossil fuels.
