Expert urges FG to invest more in renewable energy

Mon, Aug 27, 2018 | By publisher


Power

Mike Nwanegbo, the Managing Director, FullRiver Limited, on Monday, urged the Federal Government to invest more in renewable energy to fill the energy supply gap.

Nwanegbo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the Federal Government should attract more private investors to invest in renewable energy.

He said investing in renewable energy would accelerate access to sustainable energy for Nigerians.

He said although the government had started exploiting solar energy, the country was blessed with sunlight, wind, biomass etc, which should also be exploited.

He said Nigeria should emulate other countries that are moving from fossil energy to hydro, wind and solar as sources of energy because they are environment friendly and sustainable for the environment.

Nwanegbo appealed to the government to facilitate access to single-digit interest loans to local manufacturers to assist to import equipment through special funding windows.

According to him, lack of access to bank loan has crippled the development of renewable energy in Nigeria.

Nwanegbo said the demand for renewable energy skills were growing globally, and that experts in the field needed financial backing to grow the sector.

He urged the government to fund projects in the sector to encourage more participants in the area.

“Renewable energy is a fundamental and growing part of the world’s ongoing energy transformation.

“Governments all over the world are turning to renewable energy. The Nigerian government should also invest more in this energy to bridge the gap in grid energy,” he said.

Nwanegbo said lack of access to electricity hindered the development and growth of the country, and that 80 million Nigerians in off-grid areas still relied on crude sources of power.

He said government should sponsor more solar energy companies to build off-grid energy for rural dwellers.

According to Nwanegbo, solar energy can help address climate change and increase standard of living of rural dwellers.

He explained that the country’s power challenges could be addressed by the various renewable energy providers if all hands were on deck.

Nwanegbo also said FullRiver Limited had introduced a hybrid of windmill and solar, powered by batteries and inverter, to power homes, factories and states. (NAN)

– Aug. 27, 2018 @ 12:19 GMT |

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