Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Renewable energy solution is gradually gaining traction in Nigeria’s power sector to the extent that industries and private homes now prefer it to the poor services of generation and distribution companies.
Renewable energy is an energy that replenishes itself (renewable) without any human effort such as the sun and wind energy.
In this interview, the Executive Secretary of Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Lande Abudu, gave reasons why renewable energy is preferable to other sources of energy.
Infinite source
Renewable energy simply means energy that is renewable as opposed to fossil fuels. That means it is not a finite source. For example, everybody knows about sun energy. Can the energy of the sun run out? No. Obviously, technology has now learnt how to harness solar energy and make it into electricity.
As it is used, sun electricity replenishes itself. That is what we mean by renewable energy. The same with wind. The same with biogas. You don’t have to do anything. That is the essence of renewable energy. Why should renewable energy be the option?
One, it is normally cleaner. That is what we try to explain to the public. Not only is it renewable, it is a clean energy. Nigeria is an oil-dependent country. You know the hazards of fossil fuels. So, renewable energy is the way to go. That is where REAN comes in and members are renewable energy developers across board. So, we have a lot of solar energy developers. We have people in the clean cooking space. We have people, not so much in wind, but they also deploy other solutions. So, that is renewable energy in a nutshell.
Import duty
In the past, if you are going to import solar components, there was zero per cent duty on the components. But all of a sudden, I believe it was in June 2018, the government changed the order. There was no longer zero per cent duty on solar components. That means it was now divided into different components. You have the PVC, which is the panel; you have the actual unit and you have the battery. All these now attract five per cent duty plus the five per cent VAT. Bear it in mind that we should be encouraged to bring in things. If you put duty on it, how do they make profit? Yet we want to electrify Nigeria. So, that is exactly how it affects us. It affects the bottomline which will translate to more expense to the consumer. Which means that perhaps, we will not be able to deploy and scale up as fast as developers would like to. What does that mean, we will not have other sources of electricity as quickly as we want to, bearing in mind that over 55 per cent of Nigerians lack access to electricity. How do we begin to electrify at a faster rate? Even if there are millions of investments in the grid, it cannot provide electricity solution in the next decade or more.
Assembly plant
We don’t manufacture any renewable components in Nigeria. What we have and which a couple of our members are doing is assembly plant. We bring in the parts and they assemble.
Fake materials
As you said, we do so (check fake materials) in collaboration with regulatory agencies. So, on our own part as a private sector, we engage with them. What we want to have is quality assurance. We have a working group for quality assurance. Their own task under REAN’s umbrella is to go out and make sure they liaise with both private and mostly public sectors and try and get proper standards, certifications, accreditations. If we involve them in policy, then when things come in , we say look, this one has SON certificate. That this is an authentic importer of such materials. We warehouse the data of all importers. At the click of the button, we can say that we need a reliable importer of solar panels. I need to replace my battery. As an association, we speak with one voice, work with government agencies so that we can have proper standards for goods that are coming in.
How do you deal with fake products?
There are fake materials all over Nigeria. This is the reality of the landscape we are living in. People will sell substandard goods. People will sell things that developers have thrown away as substandard. They will go and pass it up as new.
How do fake materials affect your existence?
As a body , it affects credibility for everybody. If people sell fake goods, how do we convince people? Everybody will say this solar does not work. So, if there are fake goods it affects the whole of the country and not just us. If there are fake goods it is a national disaster.
FG’s plan to renew electricity contract by December 31?
It was never a perfect science when they unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). That is as much as I can say. It affects us because we try to find alternate solutions. Let’s look at on-grid, off-grid. Most of our own members are looking for off-grid solutions. So, in that way it affects. It is also good because we can lead the path in terms of anything , excluding the Discos.
Will the action increase your rate of acceptability and profit?
There is already more demand for renewable energy than people could cope with. In any case, in the metering and other issues we all have to work together because the mini-grid still has to be paid for one way or another. If it is stand-alone system, that is another thing. That means the market becomes huger for them. Stand-alone system is small. You can’t have 10-work systems in the centre of Abuja. It means you won’t meet the need of the people. So, we all need them to work properly.
Low awareness
We have to create awareness. In Onikan, Lagos, there is a hospital that is powered by a mini-grid. Rubitec is deploying Gbamgbam Community a mini-grid to power the village which includes a hospital. Industrial electrification with renewable energy is durable. GVE, one of our members, has a plant in Port Harcourt, Niger State and Nasarawa State, powering industries. There is a skill on the way. A few of our members are on the way. They are going to power a farm in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. They will run the farm and they will use the waste as energy apart from also deploying other renewable solutions.
How do you calculate your energy?
It has been finetuned. Sometimes it is by tariff. Sometimes, if it is standalone, it is pay as you go.
By metering?
It has a central metering system. You plug into it and then calculate the tariff that would go to each consumer.
How many members do you have and where are they located?
The members are in all six geo-political zones of Nigeria. We have about 100 members who are doing 80 to 90 per cent of renewable work in Nigeria. We started in 2016.
How do you rate the services of Discos in Nigeria?
I can’t totally say why we can’t be satisfied with the operations of the Discos. They are also working under a lot of things that are happening, to be fair to them. They are not working under ideal conditions. That said, they also should stop strangulating everybody and holding us to ransom and said oh, it is this, it is that. Everybody lays the blame but the actual thing that needs to be done is, are they delivering on what they were given? It is a privilege. They are just 11 of them. Yes, they paid money for it but it is still a privilege for them. You have to sort out tariffs. You have to sort out a lot of things. I think they know what to do.
What does it take to be a member?
First of all, do your homework. You have to have a plan. Which solutions do you want to deploy? Do you want to deploy mini-grids. Do you want to work off-grid? Do you want to work on-grid? Do you want to deploy stand-alone solutions? One of our members, Azuri Technologies, operates in several African countries. They came to Nigeria to partner with NDPHC and they deployed 20,000 HAS system to 12 states in northern Nigeria. They will not involve themselves in mini-grid. They will not involve themselves in solar solutions. They target rural communities and it is a social enterprise. So, the first thing you have to do is know what you want to enter into. When you have decided all that, then do your homework. Once you know what to do, there is importation process.
Subsidy?
For now, there is no subsidy specific to renewable energy agency. They have tried to facilitate things like the mini-grid policy. Under a certain megawatts (between one and five megawatts), you don’t have to get any special licence. You can just do your homework about a community. Go in and deploy. So, those are the soft-landings that they have given. But in terms of clear and definite things, there is none at present.