Operators in the renewable energy space and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector on Tuesday suggested various ways to address the gaps in the power sector.
They spoke in Lagos on Wednesday preparatory to the Future Energy Nigeria Conference and Expo scheduled for Nov.12 and 13.
Theme of the conference is: “Advancing Partnerships and Solutions for a Sustainable Energy Economy.”
Commenting, Mr Ade Yesufu, the Head of Sales, East and West Africa, Clarion Energy-Spintellingent, said there was the need to gain investors’ confidence through overhauling of the value chain for competitiveness.
Yesufu said that there was need to advance conversations in the sustainable energy sector.
According to him, there is a need for government to make the power sector attractive for investment through policy frameworks and by embracing new technologies.
He said Nigeria was lagging behind Niger and Cameroon in renewable energy adoption.
Yesufu believed that the country could still catch up, instead of depending heavily on the grid when opportunities abound in the off-grid sector.
He said that the conference also seeks to provide solutions to the nation’s power challenges as well as empower youths for improved capacity development.
Also, Mr George Kai, Marketing Manager, Jubaili Bros Engineering, said that the initial cost of adopting renewable solution and access to funding were critical issues limiting the growth of renewables.
Considering the cost of the project at the initial stage, Kai urged interested off-takers to explore financing options as people were skeptical about their capital expenditure.
In his remarks, Mr Pradipta Mitra, Market Research Specialist Greenville LNG, said the claim that electricity could not be supplied nationwide would be erased when government promotes more investment to harness LNG in Nigeria.
Mitra said that if such projects could be replicated, Nigeria’s power problem would be gradually solved.
He explained that LNG offers huge cost savings as against other fossil fuel products.
Mitra said the firm was already supplying LNG to many industrial customers, adding that 200 tankers had been deployed with 100 more tankers underway.
Contributing, Mrs Anita Okuribido, President, Women in Renewable Energy Association, said that the biggest consumers of electricity (ministries, departments and agencies) in the country were not willing to pay.
Okuribido, also former President, Council on Renewable Energy, said that there was need for smart energy delivery system in the energy value chain.