The frequent collapse of the national grid will not affect the power supply for electric vehicles in the future, Mr. Ademola Ogunbanjo, Vice-President (V-P), Oando Clean Energy Ltd., said on Tuesday.
Ogunbanjo made the assertion at the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) Stakeholders Conference with the theme: “Renewable Energy – The Future Is Here”, which was held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island.
He lauded the Nigerian Energy Transition plan which sought to move away from the use of fossil energy, over time and invest in renewable energy resources such as solar, and water, among others to drive industry.
“There is the argument from people who wonder if a nation struggling to power homes, commercial activities, and industry can roll out electric vehicles and be successful at it.
“However, power is a module and we are going to distribute modular power across the country to power charging infrastructure that will see to it that electric vehicles do not break down,” he said.
According to the V-P, the modular nature of power allows for the creation of charging infrastructure outside of the grid which is lesser to maintain and operate compared to the internal combustion engine.
“We need to understand that the energy transition is not a threat to Africa but an opportunity for Africa to ramp up her development agenda using renewable energy resources.
“We need to guard against making the same mistakes that had been made by the developed world who went ahead of us.
“The provision of energy through fossil fuel sources has led to climate change and the impact that comes with it such include sea level rising, temperature rising, ozone layer destruction, carbon emissions among others.
“These were unintended negative consequences but today we know better about how to use the earth’s resources and it beholds on us to do better,” he said.
Ogunbanjo said that it was necessary to transit responsibly in a sustainable way so that our health would not be impaired and our environment not damaged for the next generation.
“The role of the private sector is to work with the government to ensure that appropriate projects are developed and delivered.
“Implementation of the transition will be challenging however, agencies have been set up to see to the ease of the implementation.
“We also have a new climate change commission and other agencies set up to deliver the mandate of near-zero carbon emission by 2060 that President Muhammadu Buhari has committed to,” the VP said.
Also speaking, the General Manager of Commercial, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR), Mr. Olarewaju Daramola, said that a significant number of people in Africa still relied on coals for their domestic or commercial activities.
“This is worrying because everyone who relies on coal has to cut down a tree and when trees are cut down, this damages the ecosystem leading to deforestation, and gully erosion, among others.
“So, solutions need to be put in place to help people transit to alternative renewable energy consumption in future such as gas (LPG) and the sun (solar).
“The use of gas will help solve a lot of problems associated with fossil fuels,” he said.
Daramola said that the government was doing the right thing by being forward-looking in the use of alternative sources of energy and playing its responsible role in the global committee of nations.
“Gas is abundant in Nigeria and Nigeria needs to move quickly to harness its gas resources and deploy it to drive industrialisation and also improve the quality of life of the people.
“Gas infrastructure is still a deficit in this country because of its unavailability to the nooks and crannies of this country,” he said.
The GM said that the mainstream gas infrastructure fund needed to be brought to the forefront to drive investments in gas infrastructure so that it could be available to even those in the hinterlands.
Similarly, the Secretary to REAN, Mrs. Salamatu Tunzwang, said that the conference addressed the issues bordering on implementation and the transition to alternative sources of energy as it affects Nigeria.
“We gathered to see how we want to shape the future through energy since it’s the future and the future is here already.
“I am sure people only talk about solar as renewable energy but we have much more than solar.
“So, we look forward to creating awareness and sensitizing the public on the various energies and their energy needs,” she said.
Tunzwang said that if we had more renewable energies, we would be healthier and be able to perform better in terms of business.
