‘Apathy, Lack Of Long Term Investment Responsible For Low Renewable Penetration’

Experts have stated that apathy and the lack of long-term investments were major factors hindering the development of renewable in the country.

The experts stated this on the sidelines of the Gennex Colloquium 2022 in Lagos recently.

On his part, the managing director, Gennex Technologies, Mr. Patrick Ilo, stated that, there is still a lukewarm attitude on the part of investors to investing in the renewable sector, believing that it is not a profitable venture.

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“A lot of people are not venturing into renewables today because they think it does not work. To me, I believe there is a knowledge gap. In this sector you do not get your profits as quick as possible, so the craze for quick money is a factor,” he said.
He, however, commended the federal government in its efforts to bolster the renewable sector, saying that the federal government has put in a lot of money and latitude in making sure the sector thrives.
“The government has actually introduced a scheme through the ministry of power to attract zero per cent duty on renewable energy materials. There are lots of tax concessions and tax holiday given to operators in this sector,” he added.
Speaking earlier, the executive director, Gennex Technologies, Mrs. Toyin Ilo, said the colloquium was founded six years ago with the vision of revolutionising the off-grid solar and renewable energy space in Nigeria, pointing out that Gennex Technologies has remained true to this vision.
She added that, through its innovative solutions, the company has helped many companies and individuals across Nigeria make a seamless transition to clean, renewable energy.
“Our product categories are top of the range in the industry, and by deploying our expert and experienced personnel to cutting-edge projects, our solar installation systems are cost-effective and very durable,” she said.
According to her, the renewable energy sector has made tremendous progress over the last several years, from opening up of the sector to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), standardisation of inputs to key policy thrusts designed to galvanise investments in the sector and ensuring smooth transition to clean energy. She noted that despite the giant strides, challenges still abound.
She further explained that the industry is still grappling with the challenge of substandard inputs and components, which she said, has the capacity to erode the confidence of customers in their journey to transition to renewable energy.
“The final challenge the industry is grappling with is how to ensure that commercial and industrial customers, as well as other end users have access to innovative financial packages to assist them in the uptake of solar solutions,” she said.
The director of Marketing, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Engr. Richard Adewunmi, said SON’s absence at the port used to be a reason why substandard solar products found their ways into Nigeria’s market, saying, the six months grace given to SON to be at the port would address the challenge to the barest minimum.
He added that the sector is also bedeviled by proliferation of quack installers and their sharp practices to cut corners.
The Sector head, Renewable Energy Sector, Sterling Bank, Seyi Okunuga, said, with the devaluation of the naira, the impact of renewable energy is not being felt.
He added that operators in the industry must engage in credible partnerships to deliver value to their customers while also staying afloat.
On her part, the chief commercial officer, Arnergy Solar, Omobola Omofaiye, said the federal government has been very supportive to driving growth in the renewable energy sector in its bid to power homes and create employment for the nation’s teeming unemployed youths.
She advocated the need for Nigeria to invest in local production of solar products, pointing out that being an import dependent country, a lot is being spent on importation of solar products into the country.