..asks Govt to Seize Opportunities Presented By Renewable Energy
..receives REAN Award of Recognition
Wife of the Governor of Ondo State, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has disclosed that the Bemore Empowered Girls’ Foundation, through its annual summer boot camp, has contributed no less than 25 thousand watts to the country’s national electricity grid.
The governor’s wife said this on Wednesday during the Renewable Energy Stakeholders’ Conference and REAN Annual General Meeting, which holds 27th-28th September, 2022, at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Kofo Abayomi Street, Lagos Island, Lagos State.
Bemore summer boot camp which trains Nigerian secondary school girls in solar technology, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and other life-enhancing skills, bridges gender parity gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship (STEM+E).
According to Mrs Akeredolu: “Bemore has since held 5 successful boot camps and trained over 2, 000 girls in Solar Technology and ICT. The more phenomenal side to the scheme is its strategic contribution of energy to the national grid through the 12 watts complete solar home system given to each Bemore girl at graduation.
“If we multiply 12 watts per girl by at least two thousand, the cumulative should be about 25, 000 Watts that Bemore has contributed to the national grid. This volume, at any rate, is a whole lot that has helped notedly to assuage the nation’s crying need for power.”
The First Lady who was a Special Guest of Honour at the event, encouraged that Nigeria should take advantage of the opportunities presented by renewable energy resources in sustainable development, saying, the country needs to establish renewable energy markets and gradually develop experience with relevant technologies in the sector.
“Nigeria is vastly blessed with renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower potentials. It is only reasonable that the country considers increased penetration of renewables into the energy supply mix as a logical and lasting solution.
“We should at once seize the opportunities presented by renewable energy resources in sustainable development. Nigeria needs to establish renewable energy markets and gradually develop experience with relevant technologies in the sector.” She said.
Mrs Akeredolu noted that the standard of living of a given country can directly be related to the per capita energy consumption and that energy is fundamental for socioeconomic development and poverty eradication. She regretted, however, that between 60% to 70% of Nigerian population does not have access to electricity.
In her words: “Energy plays the most vital role in the economic growth, progress, and development, as well as poverty eradication and security of any nation. Energy is an important factor in all the sectors of any country’s economy. The standard of living of a given country can be directly related to the per capita energy consumption.
“Sadly, the supply of electricity, Nigeria’s energy resource has been erratic. Today, between 60% to 70% of the Nigerian population does not have access to electricity, yet energy is fundamental for socioeconomic development and poverty eradication.”
The Bemore founder who asserted that renewable energy is a credible and reliable energy alternative to the protracted electricity challenge, said: “There is no doubt that the present power crisis afflicting Nigeria will persist unless the government diversifies the energy sources in domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors and adopts new technologies to reduce energy wastages and to save cost.”
The Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) presented Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, with a special award of recognition for her outstanding contributions to the renewable energy sector and for her invaluable support for REAN over the years.
Chief Anyanwu-Akeredolu thanked the association for finding her worthy of the honour and promised to continue to do what she loves to do in favour of the girl child, saying, “Giving a headstart to girl children is one thing that makes the difference for me, and I will continue to do this.”
In his remarks, the outgoing President of REAN, Segun Adaju, PhD, appreciated Mrs Akeredolu for her huge investment in girl child development and for doing so much for the country through the Bemore Empowered Girls’ Foundation.
Story Credit: Debo Akinbami
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