Total Nigeria’s solar solution aims to bring temporary relief to households as well as to assist the government in finding the best solution to curb the country’s electricity crisis
Total Nigeria, a subsidiary of the French multi-national oil and gas company, has introduced a new Solar Home Solution for households in the West African country, which will be implemented as a pilot.
Speaking at a climate change summit in Lagos, Alexis Vovk, managing director of Total Nigeria, said the company is introducing different scopes of solar energy solutions to the Nigerian market for domestic, industrial and commercial use, reported local media This Day Live on Wednesday.
He said: “This is with the aim of improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and making energy available to all.”
Vovk said Total Nigeria’s solar solutions include hybrid energy solutions for industry, the Solar Home Solution for families and homes, and portable mobile Awango Total Solar lamps.
The announcement follows the company taking “bold steps to venture into more environmental friendly energy solutions”, he said.
Vovk said that last year Total inaugurated the first solar-powered service station in Nigeria’s fastest growing city, Lagos.
“We have also concluded a second solar-powered station in our Wuse 6 service station in Abuja. We intend to roll out more solar-powered stations this year. This Solar Hybrid solution is ready to be offered to organisations that intend to use clean energy and remarkably reduce their cost of fuel,” he said.
In his speech, Vovk acknowledged the discrepancy between how much power was being generated in Nigeria to the actual electricity demand in the country, making reference to the International Energy Agency’s Africa Energy Outlook, which stated that an estimated 93 million out of Nigeria’s 170 million population lack access to electricity, local media reported.
Vovk stated: “The level of CO2 emission from gaseous fuel consumption in Nigeria as at 2011 was estimated to be at 23.58m metric tonnes, according to World Development Indicators. Hence, the need for development of alternative energy sources with lower carbon footprint cannot be over emphasized.”