Energy Committee hosts NASENI, Atomic Energy Commission

Officials of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) also appeared before the committee.Committee Chairman RasheedLadoja said the committee was interested in knowing whether the agency could commercialise its product for patronage by Nigerians. The Committee also asked questions on the economic viability of using solar energy for rural electrification in view of the challenges of installing […]

Officials of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) also appeared before the committee.
Committee Chairman RasheedLadoja said the committee was interested in knowing whether the agency could commercialise its product for patronage by Nigerians.
 The Committee also asked questions on the economic viability of using solar energy for rural electrification in view of the challenges of installing functional public power supply in such areas.
 NASENI’s Director of Planning and Policy Analysis Dr. Ibrahim Abdulmalik said the agency has developed a pilot solar power manufacturing plant at Karshi in Abuja and has signed an agreement with China Great Wall to manufacture solar panels locally.
However, he lamented that past adminis-trations have not adequately funded research and development and that most of the funds available for research and development were badly managed.
He said NASENI is collaborating with the Great China Wall to establish a high voltage laboratory and a transformer production and repair company, just as he advocated a National Council for Research and Innovation with constitutional backing to ensure that funding would be appropriated for every year.
On its part, NAEC, led by the Director Manpower Training and Development Professor Simon Mallam explained that a nuclear power plant has a lifespan of about 60 years and is environmentally friendly.
However, he said the major drawback would be the initial investment which he put at about between $6 billion but adds that the plan of the agency was to have a 1000 megawatts plant by the year 2020.