FG to target 2000mw from solar energy – Onu

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has said that the Federal Government has concluded arrangements to generate at least 2000 megawatts of solar energy, The Sun reports.

Onu, who addressed a World press conference on the outcome of his recent tour to the 7th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in Abu Dabi, United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, said out of the 2000 megawatts to be generated this year, 1000 will be off grid while the other 1000mw will be on grid.

He disclosed that the world for the first time spent about $300 billion in 2016 to promote renewable energy, while countries were also increasing percentage of contributions to their energy mix. 

IRENA is an inter-governmental organization involving many countries from all the continents that emphasise the importance of renewable energy.

FG accesses $67m W’Bank loan to develop hydro power dam in Jigawa

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, Sen. Ubale Shittu, on Sunday said the Federal Government has accessed a $67m World Bank loan to rehabilitate Hadejia Valley Dam to boost electricity generation in Jigawa State, ecoFIN agency reports.

Shittu told reporters in Dutse that $60m would be used to rehabilitate and expand the dam by 1,000 hectares. He said that the remaining $7m dollars would be spent on dredging of the river from Tiga Dam in Kano State to Koli in Kirikasama Local Government Area of Jigawa.

According to him, the contract for the project would be awarded next month while work is expected to commence by the end of first quarter.

PPP critical to tackling power deficit – Dangote

The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote yesterday told an audience at the World Economic Forum (WEF) holding in Davos Switzerland that a joint effort between government and private sector to tackle the power deficit remained a key element in boosting the economy of Africa, The Nation reports.

He said part of his $12 billion refinery and petrochemical project in Lagos involved the laying of sub-sea gas pipelines from Niger Delta to Lagos to provide 3 billion cubic feet of gas that can generate 12, 000 mw of electricity. Dangote said government must galvanize the private sector in the provision of stable power in Africa “and that at the end it would be a win-win situation because when power is available a lot of people will put to work and government revenue will also increase.”

According to him, his company also signed a $5 billion collaborative agreement with Blackstone to generate power and added that while the private sector is investing, the role of government would be to provide the operational framework and conducive environment for the investments to thrive. He stated that given the abundance of resources needed to generate power like gas and coal which he said the continent is blessed with, more had to be done to close the power deficit.

BoI launches N1bn solar energy fund

In pursuance of its Green Energy Project, the Bank of Industry on Friday in Lagos launched its 1 billion naira solar energy fund to boost its off-grid electricity generation project, Leadership reports.

The fund would be made available to firms partnering with the bank in the development of solar energy services across the country. Speaking at the event, acting managing director of the bank, Waheed Olagunju, explained that the fund is a concessional financing project initiated by the bank as a result of poor cash flow in the rural areas.

The bank according to him, spent about N240 million for six pilot solar projects in the geo-political zones of the country in 2016. According the managing director, Many Nigerians and Nigerian businesses that can afford other alternative energy sources have resorted to the use of electric generators at exorbitant costs.

A robust mix of energy sources combined with an improved end-use efficiency, would be required to meet the country’s energy needs, and this is where the utilization of renewable energy sources come into play” he said. He stressed that it is therefore important to support the provision of sustainable and reliable energy for MSMEs, which is why the bank has decided to provide the Solar Energy Fund to MSMEs.

THE NEVADA SUN WILL POWER TESLA'S GIGANTIC 'GIGAFACTORY'

Since kicking off the project in 2014, Tesla has claimed its massive “Gigafactory” near Reno, Nevada, will be the largest lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility in the world, and that it will achieve that feat using renewable energy. Now we have some idea of the scale of Tesla’s commitment to that.

Tesla began producing battery cells at the Gigafactory earlier this month, and gave a tour to investors to show it off. A document handed out to investors on that tour, obtained by Electrek, mentions a huge rooftop solar array for the factory, along with additional solar panels installed at ground level.

“We will be using 100-percent sustainable energy through a combination of a 70 MW solar rooftop array and solar ground installations,” the Tesla document said. “The solar rooftop array is ~7x larger than the largest rooftop solar system installed today,” it said. Whirlpool has a 10-MW array on the roof of a distribution center in Perris, California, and there is reportedly an 11.5-MW rooftop array in India. Tesla also discussed other aspects of the Gigafactory meant to reduce its carbon footprint. Most of the building’s heat will be supplied by waste heat from the production process, and the factory will feature a water-recirculation system that Tesla claims will cut fresh water usage by 80 percent. The company is also constructing an on-site recycling center for batteries.

The Gigafactory is currently building battery cells for Tesla’s Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy-storage battery packs. It began assembling these packs last year, but just began manufacturing the cells that go into them at the beginning of this month. Cell production for electric cars will start in the second quarter of this year, Tesla says. That will coincide with the start of production of the Model 3, Tesla’s $35,000, 215-mile, mass-market electric car.

While Tesla is already making things at the Gigafactory, the plant itself isn’t finished yet. Besides the yet-to-be-completed rooftop solar array and battery recycling center, Tesla claims the factory is only 30 percent of its final size. When complete, it believes the Gigafactory will be the largest building in the world.

Dulas to deliver solar fridges for vaccine storage in northern Nigeria

Leading British solar refrigeration manufacturer and renewable energy specialist, Dulas is in the process of delivering over 300 of its VC150SDD solar refrigerators to Nigeria. These World Health Organization (WHO) accredited refrigerators will be used to safely store vaccines in Yobe, Bauchi, and Kaduna states, Alternative Energy Africa reports.

With the WHO aiming to achieve 90% immunization coverage in each of its target countries by 2020, reliable storage of vaccines at the correct temperature is of crucial importance. Although the WHO believe that they will soon be able to rid Nigeria of polio, immunization programs can often be hindered by storage issues. This is most often the case in more remote areas with only sporadic access to the national grid. In the absence of a reliable source of electricity, temperature-sensitive vaccines will spoil and go to waste.

The Dulas solar-powered refrigerators use an advanced non-corrosive phase change material for the energy store, which cannot be damaged by over-charging or discharging, thereby ensuring there is no need to replace it. Combined with Dulas’ intelligent variable speed controller, this extends the usability of SDD fridges and makes them more resilient in low-sun conditions.

FG working with China on local production of solar cells in Nigeria

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, while visiting NASENI Solar Energy Ltd., revealed that the Federal Government was working to intensify efforts to increase power generation through solar energy, VON reports.

Onu said the ministry would facilitate access to the 85 per cent offer from China for the approval of the 15 per cent counterpart funding to guarantee local production of Solar Cells in Nigeria. “This will facilitate advanced research, drastically reduce the cost of solar power installation and increase clean energy local content in the power sector,” he said. Onu promised that the ministry would make a strong case for the patronage of NASENI Solar Energy Ltd.

Earlier, Prof. Sani Haruna, the Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), said the objective of setting up the company was to inject local content in the power sector. The objective also includes developing and demonstrating local capacity; creating business; generating revenue and building capacity in renewable energy generally.