…Partnership Will Help To Meet Our Energy Needs – Enugu State Govt.

By Ikechukwu Odu, Agbani

The Consul General, German Consulate, Lagos Nigeria, Weert Borner, on Friday stated that Germany is partnering Nigeria in building renewable energy sources in order solve its energy crisis.

Borner who said that renewable energy sources are cleaner and more environmentally-friendly, called on governments and individuals to invest more on renewable energy which according to him would help in job creation along its value chain.

He made the call while delivering a public lecture titled ‘German-Nigeria Cooperation in the Global Energy Transition,’ at the capacity-filled Professor Julius Onah Auditorium, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Agbani, Enugu State.

He further advocated for the use of gas system to replace the fuel and diesel generators to save cost and reduce carbon emissions.

“In our energy partnership with Nigeria, there are two main focuses that we have already started. One is on supporting Nigeria in building renewable energy sources, not only solar but wind, biomass and hydropower. The second one is to improve the energy grid system for Nigeria.

“Gas should be systematically used to replace the largest source of energy in Nigeria, which is the decentralized generators running on petrol or diesel. In both business and environmental terms, it is the major polluting source of energy which contributes in global warming,” he said.

Also the Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Peter Mbah, has stated that the state has keyed into the energy transition trend.

Governor Mbah who was represented in the public lecture by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, stated that the state has launched a geo-mapping efforts to evaluate the commercial potential of its natural gas, also stated that plans are on course to modernize its transport system, using CNG buses to replace smaller and less efficient buses in the state.

He further stated that the government would convert most vehicles in the state to become solar-powered.

While briefing newsmen after the lecture, he said “What Enugu State Government is trying to do through the policy direction of the Governor Peter Mbah , and the Enugu State Electricity Law is to open an electricity market that harnesses opportunities for investors to come in and set up generation companies. In that way, we would have generation framework that would service our people and provide the necessary energy.

“We did a preliminary energy audit and we have a projection of about 700 megawatts and current share of EEDC is less than 100 megawatts of electricity for the whole South East, that would tell you what proportion comes to Enugu. That would not meet the needs of our agro processing zone outlook and our industrial clusters and other initiatives the government is pushing.

“So, this partnership with the German Government and Enugu State helps us with both the technical capacity for our new electricity regulatory commission and other aspects towards building our economy from 4.4 billion dollars to 30 billion dollars . So this partnership is to make sure that we meet our energy needs and other economic activities in Enugu State,” he explained.

Equally, the Vice Chancellor of ESUT, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, in his opening remarks during the lecture stated that the goal of the University is to be most competitive in research, teaching and scholarship.

Professor Okolie further stated that the University has established Centres of Excellencies geared towards realizing its scholarship endeavours , adding that the University Management has installed solar energy in the students hall of residences to address water problems.

Though he said that the issue of power supply is still challenging to the University , he called for collaborations between the German universities and ESUT in knowledge transfer and exchange programmes.