- Femi Adeyemo has revealed that renewable energy can be a game changer in three areas: residential, commercial, and industrial.
- He revealed that renewable energy is the lowest-hanging fruit for Nigeria to close electrification gaps.
Arnergy Chief Executive Officer Femi Adeyemo has revealed that renewable energy can be a game changer in three areas: residential, commercial, and industrial. In a recent interview on Arise News, he said that Nigerian homes need to be powered by solar.
On the commercial and industrial side, he advocated a mix of renewable energy and grid power to power Nigerian industries. Renewable energy and the grid can support the industrial sector because of weather conditions, including cloudy weather, which supply from the grid can support.
He noted that Nigeria is at the point where the power generated from renewable energy is lower than current band B and C tariffs. He stated that it is a shame Nigeria is not maximising renewables. He noted that the country needs to look inward and maximise its abundant renewable energy.
He relayed that many policies and investments have been made but are not happening at the needed speed and scale. He stated that the government has bought in programs and loans like the World Bank loan, advocating that the government should put the resources where they mattered.
However, he noted that the government is taking that direction now; this includes the rural electrification program, which energises SMEs, who are the bedrock of the country’s economic development. He stated that 5-kilowatt solar system panels today, looking at the long-term plan, could achieve continuous electricity generation for twenty years, and the levelized cost of solar electricity is sixty naira, which is cheaper than bands A, B, and C.
Knowledge gap as a hindrance
He revealed that the country’s knowledge gap is another problem, noting that we make short-term plans as a people. He stated that Nigerians did not care about the noise before now, but what is happening with diesel, fuel, and the grid has made people rethink that solar energy can work and that they can use it productively. According to him, it is a good decision to incorporate renewable energy into the Electricity Act, giving states the power to generate, transmit, and distribute power across the country.
Low hanging fruit
He revealed that renewable energy is the lowest-hanging fruit for states as permitted by the 2023 Electricity Act. He also stated that if Nigeria gets one thousand and three hundred square meters of solar energy yearly, it will mean a lot for the country. He revealed that for every kilowatt of solar a Nigerian puts on their roof, they can generate four kilowatts daily.
He noted that the economy has slowed the takeoff of renewable energy because the grid is still powering major economic hubs in Lagos, Rivers, and other states. He stated that a unit of electricity is a kilowatt per hour, which many Nigerians buy from their DisCos. However, if they buy solar energy today on a long-term basis, the effective price for solar energy that will generate energy for the next twenty years is within fifty to sixty naira. This will be a great investment.