By Moses Patience Chat
The President of the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Ayo Ademilua, has said that high cost is the reason why Nigerians are not able to quickly change from the use of diesel or petrol to renewable energy sources, such as solar.
Ademilua revealed this during a recent interview with journalists where he explained that the expensive cost of using solar and other renewable energy sources is preventing a lot of people from replacing diesel and petrol with solar.
According to him, “to break the barrier of acquisition, we need to be able to get funds that have the right cost and the right tenure so that we can also allow our people to democratize this energy access in a way they can pay for it in the same way they are paying for premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.”
Ademilua added that the country’s renewable energy awareness level is currently 30 to 40%, which is not enough to be used for massive participation and scale.
He further explained that REAN plans to go on a roadshow to the 36 states of the country over the next 24 months to discuss with other members, since the Association understands that in order to increase awareness, there will be a need to grow the structure of renewable energy developers and stakeholders in the field so that they can contribute to the development of the sector.
According to him, policies need to be implemented across the board to increase renewable energy sector participation in the country.
He also said that waivers are needed on duties and incentives for development in rural areas and peri-urban areas, all of which have been stated in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan of 2015. He added that these duties and incentives are not implemented despite the need to do so.
The REAN further argued that revenue generated from carbon tax can be used to subsidize renewables under the climate change regime and make the acquisition of solar equipment components less expensive.
