A renewable energy expert, Shadrach Olanrewaju, in Lagos on Thursday advocated for a cleaner and cheaper energy consumption for Nigerians.
Olanrewaju urged the government to support the provision of cleaner energy to Nigerians.
The expert, also General Manager, First Electric Power and Automated Services, said Nigerians often saw solar energy as expensive and urged the government to make it affordable.
“Solar is a clean form of energy and should form a vital part of the energy mix in Nigeria. It is a sustainable way of having access to reliable electrical power.
“The government has taken some commendable steps by rolling out several initiatives championed by the Rural Electrification Agency such as the Energizing Economies Initiative and others.
“However, there is a lot of scope for improvement such as reducing customs duties on solar energy related equipment.
“This will make the purchase of solar power system a lot cheaper for Nigerians who intend to buy outright or make installment payments.
The renewable energy expert said that one of the main challenges of selling solar is the relatively higher initial capital outlay for a solar power system.
“However, when you evaluate your life cycle cost of electricity compared to using portable diesel or petrol generators, solar actually works out to be cheaper.
“Companies like First Electric help lower the burden of high initial outlay for solar energy systems by offering flexible payment terms and subscriptions based payment thereby making solar energy available and affordable by all.
“Nigerians need and deserve reliable power supply and they are ready to adopt affordable means of having uninterrupted power.
“Government can also create a sustainable environment for local manufacturing of such equipment,” Olanrewaju explained.
