Nigerian Maritime company, Nigerdock, has said it is displacing 40% of its daytime energy use following recent solar installations at its Snake Island office in Lagos state.
In a statement seen by Thisday, Nigerdock’s Chief Executive Officer, Maher Jarmakani noted that the migration to solar energy is also helping the company to cut down on its greenhouse emission. He said:
- “As a self-sustaining economic hub, improving our energy consumption and reducing our carbon footprint is pivotal to our long-term operations and success. Our renewable energy solution will provide us and our growing clientele with consistent power and greater ease to conduct business.
- “This project is part of a wider push by Nigerdock to develop 20 megawatts (MW) of sustainable, cost-effective, and reliable power within the free zone. Current solar operations enable Nigerdock to displace 40% of its daytime energy consumption, reduce CO2 output by about 2,000 metric tons, and achieve significant emission reduction targets.
- “The solar power expansion is the next step in Nigerdock’s journey towards green port status, highlighting the company’s vision and commitment to Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, the Blue Economy, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”
Growing trend: Nigerdock’s Snake Island shipyard was originally built with power generating sets fully covering the power needs of the shipyard. However, in recent times, more businesses are migrating to renewables.
- During the February 4 Nairametrics Economic Outlook webinar, the Chief Commercial Officer at Mixta Africa, Rolake Akinkugbe – Filani said that Nigeria needs to diversify its energy mix to boost business operations. She provided an example with an Oil and Gas Executive who said one of the flow stations was being powered by renewable energy.
- Commercial and industrial (C&I) shift to renewable energy has become a growing trend as more Nigerian businesses and corporations migrate to solar energy systems, so as to reduce carbon emissions and provide power supply reliance at least during the day when solar energy can be fully harnessed.
For the record: It is instructive to note that prior to this time, the Nigerian government had identified free trade zones in the country as promising targets for the development of solar photovoltaic (PV). This is because they have similar needs as industrial clusters with regards to the provision of reliable power supply.
- In December 2022, a stakeholder in the Nigerian C&I space, told Nairametrics that transitioning larger energy consumers to solar has a significant positive climate impact.
- According to him, there is still a fundamental challenge of grid reliability which presents a massive opportunity to provide energy solutions to large businesses.
- He also said that the business model for C&I is less risky than others since there is guaranteed energy offtake.