Speaking when he inspected 609 kilowatts peak (kWp) Jabi Lake Mall hybrid solar power plant in Abuja, The Minister of State for Power, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba said that with the collaboration of the private sector in renewable energy sources across the country, the bills paid by Nigerians who deploy solar as an alternative would be significantly reduced.
Jabi Lake Mall hybrid solar power plant was built by Actis, a United Kingdom firm.
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While advising Nigerian to embrace the off-grid option, Jedy-Agba further called on investors to build more partnership with the Distribution Companies (Discos) who have the franchise so they can work together on similar projects to the benefit of all parties.
“Actis is proving that one can cut down energy bills through this project and this should be replicated in other places. The solar hybrid project at Jabi Lake Mall is another example of Nigeria’s pioneering role in clean energy transition,” he stated.
The minister who recently inaugurated several such projects across the states, noted that he was impressed with the work done on the facility and encouraged Nigerians to borrow a leaf from the Mall.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, described solar energy as clean, safe and reliable, noting that a lot was being done to make such sources of energy available to power the Nigerian economy.
Ahmad said the federal government through the REA was implementing the Energising Economies Initiative (EEI) to deploy clean renewable energy to thousands of businesses across markets, shopping centres and industrial facilities.
The REA helmsman affirmed that closing the energy gap with renewable energy will automatically cut down on the cost of running businesses in Nigeria, which will ultimately improve the country’s business survival index.
“Energising clusters with high economic activities and potential enables us to achieve positive environmental and economic impact using renewable energy. The critical role reliable energy plays in the life of a business cannot be over-emphasised.
“By closing the energy gap in the business landscape in Nigeria through the optimisation of renewable energy solutions, we automatically cut down on the cost of running a business in Nigeria, which ultimately improves our business survival index,” he stated.
In his comment, Actis Investment Principal, Mr Tolu Sokenu, explained that Actis/Jabi Lake Holdings Limited, was marking the one-year anniversary of the plant.
He stated that the minister’s visit was, “To showcase large-scale sustainable solar energy projects in Nigeria and to highlight private sector investments (Actis) in sustainable buildings and power supply in Nigeria.”
He added that the 25,000 square metres mall is the first of its kind in Abuja offering office and shopping space to 106 brands that include Shoprite, Game, and Silverbird as well as parking capacity for 733 vehicles.
The 1,848 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels generate 850 megawatts hour (MWh) of electricity annually and has a 15-year Solar Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA) between Jabi Mall Development Company Ltd and Cross Boundary Energy, the developer.
He emphatically stated that the project has already cut the energy bill by 25 to 30 per cent and will also reduce carbon emissions by 13,000 tonnes,