FG urged to adopt circular economy for cheaper energy
The federal government has been urged to enact policies that would promote a circular economy to be able to provide cheaper electricity for Nigerians. Speaking during a workshop organized by the Circular Economy Powered Renewable Energy Centre (CEPREC) and funded by the United Kingdom (UK) Government’s Ayrton Fund, stakeholders said the refurbishment of used renewable […]
The federal government has been urged to enact policies that would promote a circular economy to be able to provide cheaper electricity for Nigerians.
Speaking during a workshop organized by the Circular Economy Powered Renewable Energy Centre (CEPREC) and funded by the United Kingdom (UK) Government’s Ayrton Fund, stakeholders said the refurbishment of used renewable products like solar panels, inverter batteries, among others products provide opportunities for communities not connected to the national grid to be electrified in a cheaper and affordable ways.
The Director of CEPREC, Prof. Muyiwa Oyinlola, said the project which seeks to accelerate energy across Africa, said the workshop is about sharing its initial findings in the project direction with stakeholders from government, industry players and academia to validate “our thinking as well as get input and feedback in solving a real problem of energy access.”
”So we are trying to see how we can make energy access cheaper and reduce investment. So instead of buying new batteries every time, at the end of one life battery, can we repurpose it and make it better and then give it another 5 to 10 years so that we don’t always spend on new ones and throw things away. With this, we are tackling two issues.”
“Number one is the energy access that we’re trying to do by trying to make it cheaper and everything. Secondly is the electronic waste and waste that we have in our society. By that, we are preserving the environment. So it’s a case of how do we improve the processes we have now and reduce investments.”
Also, a professor of economics and innovation at the University of Warwick in England, and Deputy Director for the social sciences for CEPREC Project, Giuliana Battisti, said the project will see teams of engineers developing circular sustainable microgrid with an uptake to ensure they fulfill what communities want and how they use electricity.
On his part, the CEPREC Lead in Nigeria, Okay, Dr Victor Odumuyiwa, said the initiative is going to come up with models and research outputs that will help to plan for the future of electric vehicles when they get to end of life.