Lagos set to generate electricity from garbage

The Lagos State Government has proposed a new model in its approach to environmental waste management, The Punch reports.

According to the state government, Olusosun, a popular landfill that has been a dumping ground for years, will soon become a model for the urban renewal and waste to wealth initiatives being undertaken by the state.

The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, while announcing the inauguration of the ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’, said the government was committed to finding renewable energy sources for the grossly underserved parts of the state.

Adejare said that five new power stations, one in each division of the state, would be built to generate electricity from waste, and that the numerous dumpsites dotting the state would soon be a thing of the past.

FG secures $1.3bn hydro power plant deal with China ExIm Bank

The Federal Government, in partnership with the China ExIm Bank, will spend about $1.3bn on the construction of the 700 megawatt-capacity Zungeru hydroelectric power plant project, The Punch reports.

The Vice President, Power China Internationale Group Ltd., Mr Tian Haihua, on Thursday in Zungeru said that the project, when completed, would generate 700 megawatts and would start generating power by 2019. He also commended the Niger state government for providing a peaceful atmosphere for the smooth take off of the project

The state Commissioner for Works and Housing, Alhaji Abdulmalik Cheche, said that the state government would continue to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for the successful completion of the project. He said that the project would go a long way in providing job opportunities for the unemployed youths in the state.

FG provides water usage permit for 300MW Itobe coal power plant

The federal government has approved the license for 300 megawatts (MW) Itobe-1 coal power plant to use 1125 cubic meters per hour (m3/h) of water from the River Niger for its expected power generation, ThisDay reports.

An approval certificate for the water usage was given to the promoters of the plant – Zuma Energy, in Abuja by the Executive Director of Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC), Mr. Reuben Habu.

Habu said when he handed over the certificate to the Group Head, Administration and General Services of Zuma Energy, Mr. Ugo Agbanusi that Zuma filed a request for the license in 2015, after which its request was evaluated and the permit issued to it.

4,541 Mw from 10 NIPP plants frustrated by gas supply – BPE

The non-availability of gas supply to the 10 thermal power plants has been identified as the bane of the National Independent Power Project (NIPP), in getting 4,541 megawatts of electricity into the national grid, Leadership reports.

Acting Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Vincent Akpotaire, disclosed this at the opening of the investigation into the alleged non-transparent and fraudulent sale of power assets at the National Assembly complex, Abuja, where some aggrieved bidders including Power Grid of India, accused BPE of disqualifying other bidders and appointing Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) under questionable circumstances.

While giving a breakdown of the privatisation of the generation, distribution and transmission segments of the unbundled PHCN assets, Akpotarie disclosed that Nigeria requires a sum of $12 billion to generate 180,000MWs between now and 2030 for the country to break out of the circle of power poverty. He added that, between 2012 to 2014, the sum of $5 billion was spent on self power generation which could have added 5,000MWs to the country’s power requirements.

Cummins plans CNG stations, additional 450Mw to grid

Chairman of Cummins Cogeneration and CEO of Powergas Africa, Mr Deepak Khilnani, has said the company would add 450 MW of electricity to the National Grid in Nigeria, over 10 percent of the nation’s current electricity production, Oriental News reports.

The additional power coming in the next three years is to support government’s efforts in dealing with epileptic power supply. Khilnani said that with more regular piped gas outages, Powergas Africa has fast-tracked the construction of some new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations to meet demand in the West, East and Middle Belt of Nigeria.

“We want to take gas to the North. Moreover, Powergas is developing a portfolio approach whereby if gas outage occurs in one region, we will still be able to deliver gas to our customers by operating multiple CNG mother stations,” said Deepak Khilnani.

Confident of an economic revival in Nigeria, Powergas is building 2 new compression and liquefaction stations by 2018, with enough CNG and LNG to generate 500 MW of electricity at power plants across Nigeria where the pipeline does not reach. In other words, the ‘virtual pipeline’ offering provides natural gas to clients who are not connected to the pipeline.

Brazil launches revolutionary plan to float solar panels at hydroelectric dam

Brazil has decided to place thousands of floating solar panels on a reservoir that was created by one of the country’s most notorious dams.

The renewable power project, which is located deep in the Amazon rainforest, could eventually generate enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes. It’s technology could be replicated in other parts of the world with hydroelectric projects that are under-utilized.

“What happened here, was one of the worst environmental crimes that engineers committed in this country,” Brazil’s Energy Minister, Eduardo Braga, said during a visit to the reservoir and new solar power site. “How are we going to mitigate the cost of this crime? By improving the benefits of this dam.”

The Balbina Dam is located near the city of Manaus, in the middle of the Amazon. When the dam was built in the 1980s it flooded an area of pristine rainforest that is three times the size of New York City, forcing hundreds of indigenous people to leave their homes.

Despite having such a huge environmental impact, the hydroelectric plant currently produces just 50 megawatts of power, or about enough electricity to power 90,000 homes.

Brazilian officials are hoping that their floating solar panels will boost the dam’s capabilities and help to provide enough electricity for half a million homes. The solar panels, the first ever to be floated on a hydroelectric reservoir, will use the dam’s current infrastructure to connect with Brazil’s national power grid.

“We are going to transform hydroelectric plants that have been limited by [dry] weather, in plants without limitations, because they will also produce solar power,” Orestes Goncalvez, the president of energy company Sunlution, told AFP.

Hydroelectric projects in Brazil’s Amazon have met tough resistance from indigenous communities and environmental activists who argue that the construction of huge dams threatens rainforests and brings more settlers into these sparsely inhabited areas.

But the Brazilian government has pushed ahead with some of these initiatives, arguing that the country needs to find stable sources of energy.

Currently the Brazilian government is planning to build a hydroelectric power plant in the eastern Amazon, known as the Belo Monte dam. The project would flood 400 square kilometers, or an area that is about one-fifth of the size of the Balbina reservoir. Belomonte would be the world’s fourth-largest dam though, producing at least eighty times more power than Balbina.

“There is a big difference there in cost benefit ratio,” the Energy Minister said during his visit to the new solar panel site.

Solar firm Lumos Global raises $90m for expansion in Nigeria, others

Nigeria-focused off-grid solar installer Lumos Global said on Thursday it has raised some USD 90 million (EUR 85m) in financing, most of which came from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), SeeNews. Renewables reports.

Lumos plans to use the fresh capital to expand in Nigeria, where it sees high demand for its solar systems, and into other countries. The company will be rolling out the service to homes, small businesses and community service centres such as hospitals, churches and mosques, it said.

Lumos has a partnership with Nigerian mobile telecommunications company MTN thanks to which its customers have the opportunity to pay for their solar systems using mobile phone credit. According to Lumos, this is the sector’s largest ever investment.