How we used green energy to boost economic growth, jobs —Oye, CEO, Green Energy & Biofuels

Femi Oye is the CEO of Green Energy & Biofuels (GEB), Co-founder, SMEFUNDS and Chief Architect, GoSolarAfrica, a social investor, innovator and leader of Africa’s foremost clean energy technology companies. In this interview with NURUDEEN ALIMI, he highlights how his company has been using green energy to boost economic growth, among other issues relating to the economy.

 

With the economic challenges the country is currently confronting, power supply inadequacies and all that, what kind of sustainability blueprint would you recommend?

Let me start by establishing that economic challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria. General concerns, indeed, bother on hyperinflation that has not helped to serve the country well in terms of achieving budgetary determined goals. In fact, we are facing a situation where the government finds it overwhelming honouring its debts obligations.

The economic downturn has forced most companies to cut back on development and investment funding. Even with this, I believe the country has a vast and largely untapped wealth of natural resources to spur economic growth. The massively untapped economic potential of renewable energy, digital technology and agro-industry remain worrisome.

I will recommend that the government prioritise these sectors of the economy, supporting both local and foreign investors to develop them. Like other analysts, I see the need to diversify the structure of our economy to ensure sustained growth during cyclical downturns. There should be a level-playing field  for both local and international investors as well as  renewed  commitments to policies that boost national competitiveness and infrastructure in the coming years. The world over, governments  leverage the private sector to create a resilient economic future, especially one that produces positive social and environmental outcomes.

We are faced with a difficult economic environment, with dwindling energy  supply which demands creating an energy  mix  that is diversified in clean and of low cost. I would propose a  mix consisting  60 percent conventional energy and 40 percent renewable energy if we are going to provide access to electricity, even to the rural areas. As you can attest, current incentives are insufficient to make a big structural change as we continue to push towards a low carbon energy mix.

 

From your perspective of a sustainability road map with key milestones, what level of investments and measures are needed to achieve energy efficiency and exploration of renewable energy options?  How should the government design its green growth agenda in such a way that the transition to renewable energy is cost-effective and sustainable in the long term?

We should start with an adjustable road map, setting achievable targets for clean energy adoption on a yearly basis. Making reasonable investments in clean energy should be a priority as the government and the private sector work towards grid integration of renewable energy resources in a manner which provides Nigerians with a stable and reliable supply of power to meet their energy demands, whether in the cities or rural areas. The present administration should work with energy services providers to ensure they invest significant resources to maintain power generation and transmission equipment and infrastructure as well as minimising electricity rates.

With all the investments so far made, key cities such as Lagos and Abuja still experience disruption in electricity supplies.

We should do all we can to replace fossil powered generators which release carbon dioxide emissions into our atmosphere. We wouldn’t stop to talk about solar power. So far, it is the simplest and fastest-to deploy form of clean energy. It is readily available because of abundant sun supply across the regions.

As an organisation, we have made huge investments in clean energy and are ready to work with the government on projects, research and policy road maps. We have demonstrated that there is an impressive ROI in clean energy. This is essential if we are to get more Nigerians into clean energy adoption. We have proven that pollution reduction increases the chances of a clean energy investment becoming very profitable and successful.

 

We talk about reducing carbon footprint, what impact has it had on the national environmental performance? What metrics or global standards should be followed to measure impact?

There are so many advantages when the government and the private sector embark on deliberate mission to reduce carbon footprints. We have examples of businesses which have reduced greenhouse gas emissions and earn carbon credits. They have reaped tremendous financial benefits as well as positive environmental impacts. Most of the companies that have earned carbon credits clearly make commitment to net-zero targets and demonstrating low-cost, zero-carbon management system at an industrial scale. Moreover, there are small businesses in Nigeria which now prioritise decarbonisation as a top business goal.

What we are lacking are organisations which have reached the major milestone of becoming carbon negative. One of our goals is to continue to support firms and organisations to make progress toward a net-zero emissions future. Undeniably, the awareness has grown as companies realise there are credits to be earned when they meet net-zero emission goals under the Article 6 of the Paris agreement

We encourage organisations and individuals to earn as much carbon credits to make up for carbon dioxide emissions that come from industrial production and all other activities.

The Carbon credits certificate we issue shows how many units of carbon dioxide one has helped to remove from the atmosphere or avoided through one’s business activities.

That is why you see organisations undertaking afforestation and reforestation projects like tree planting. Such activities contribute to the net reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We are among a few organisations running quality carbon credit trading platforms, serving climate projects across Nigeria and some parts of Africa. You are aware we promote the use of energy-efficient cook stoves and e-mobility and roof-top solar. These activities are largely funded through carbon credits.

Responsibly, it is beneficial to participate in the carbon credit market. Globally, countries have launched ambitious plans to slash carbon emissions and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Individuals can also earn personal carbon credits for their commitments to reduce carbon footprints.

 

People talk about eliminating single-use plastic and reducing its environmental impact, specifically in terms of water conservation, waste reduction and recycling efforts. In all these, what are the long-term benefits for the country?

Clearly, plastic pollution is a serious environmental problem and the national movement to reduce it has gained strong momentum. A report said an estimated 16 million metric tonnes of plastic will end up in the world’s oceans by 2025. As advocates ,we have been involved in activities to educate Nigerians on the harm caused by waste plastic items. We are working with other organisations to discourage the use of single-use plastic materials. We have to reduce unneeded plastic from our landfills.

 

Many regions in India have banned sale, use and manufacturing of plastic bags. How effective has it become so far? Is banning production, usage and sale of plastic going to help the planet?

I am aware that some countries have banned most single-use plastics in an effort to mitigate the environmental impact while increasing numbers of Mayors have committed to placing caps to the use of non biodegradable plastics in their cities. But I am not sure how effective the immediate ban can be enforced. Like in Nigeria, it is difficult to implement the ban in India where there are no plastic alternatives. It is inexpensive to deploy single plastics such as grocery bags, food packaging, bottles and straws because we don’t have affordable alternatives. Honestly, it is difficult to guarantee enforcement.

We have to take steps to reduce plastic use by promoting the use of biodegradable alternatives that are relatively less harmful to the environment. On a long term, more regulation and legislation will be required to guarantee compliance and attitudinal change that will ensure success.

 

What is the prospect of eliminating water hyacinth in Nigerian waters and global warming?

It is difficult to eradicate water hyacinth. As a result of global warming, the plant is spreading at a rapid pace, covering the surface of rivers, lakes and other streams .It has affected navigation and fishing activities by farmers, causing serious ecological and economic problems. Over the past decade we have been able to develop a process to turn it into biofuel for our eco-friendly KIKE stoves.  What is also possible is a government national policy and programme to leverage our breakthrough technology to scale such approach into more economic use, so our youths can make money from it. Apart from using it as a fuel-gel for our energy stove, we are working on developing  other  products from water hyacinth. We believe we can  solve the problem of evasive water hyacinth on waterways through partnership and value addition.

 

There are many different kinds of cookstove technologies being manufactured by other companies operating across Africa. What sets your products apart from its competitors?

Ours is a renewable fuel-gel and cookstove technology for household cooking. We have invested more than $6 million  of private capital to scale up the clean cookstove product in Nigeria and across the west African region. Having reached over 1,000,000 households, it is a testament that customers prefer a cleaner, safer and affordable alternatives. The cookstoves burn with zero carbon emission, making it a stove with highest grade of carbon credit record over an LPG stoves linked to global warming.

Apart from this,  we have supported and created over 200,000 women-led green businesses with an average earning of $1,000 monthly through distribution and support of clean energy stoves customers. In the approaching years, we will be  focusing  on financing large-scale projects and building partnerships with state governments and private companies.

 

Can you elaborate on your future plans?

We have a target to distribute 10 million green energy cookstoves to households, small-hold farmers, communities and organisations by 2027. That is why we are reaching out to governments and companies for partnership and collaboration.  With quality and high grade emission reduct offset, each cookstove will deliver over 15 tonnes of carbon credits annually, thereby helping corporations and governments to achieve their target emission commitment.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that replacing traditional open fires with improved cooking stoves has the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by between 0.6 and 2.4 rigatonis of CO2 equivalent per year.

We want to work with committed organisations to raise awareness about the clean energy stoves. We have established a proven technology, built local production capacity plant for manufacturing of clean energy stoves and biofuels. The stove is sold through our women-led entrepreneurs and retail points outside Nigeria.

 

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