Using solar power as a backup in Nigerian households offers several key benefits:

1. *Cost Savings*: Solar energy can reduce or even eliminate electricity bills. After the initial installation cost, the energy from the sun is free, which can be a significant saving compared to using diesel generators or relying solely on the grid.

2. *Reliability*: Solar power provides a dependable source of electricity, especially during frequent power outages. This ensures that essential household appliances and devices remain operational.

3. *Environmental Impact*: Solar energy is a clean, renewable resource that reduces carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a healthier environment.

4. *Energy Independence*: By generating your own electricity, you reduce dependence on the national grid and fossil fuels, enhancing energy security and stability.

5. *Increased Property Value*: Homes equipped with solar power systems often have higher property values and are more attractive to buyers.

6. *Low Maintenance*: Solar power systems require minimal maintenance. Regular cleaning and occasional professional check-ups are usually sufficient to keep them running efficiently.

7. *Improved Quality of Life*: Reliable electricity improves living standards by ensuring that lighting, refrigeration, and other essential services are always available. This can also support home-based businesses and remote work.

8. *Educational Opportunities*: For households with children, reliable electricity can support better study environments and access to educational resources online.

Given your interest in empowering women and girls in STEM, promoting solar power in households can also serve as a practical example of renewable energy solutions, inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in clean energy.

Awareness and Demonstration of electric cooking appliances at Petti, Kilankwa, Abuja. June 2023

With a population of over 240 million in Nigeria, 47% lives in the rural area and still use fuel wood and charcoal for their cooking needs, of which 93,000 women die annually from smoke inhaled, cooking with fuel wood.

Nigeria has over 120 solar power ‘
+mini-grid with majority of the household connected still relying on firewood for their cooking needs

The World Bank and the Rural Electrification Agency has projected that about 10,000 Mini-grids would be built in the next five years in Nigeria to electrify over 10 million households and businesses.

We have organized 3 sensitization workshops and demonstration session in mini-grid communities, on the benefits of electric cooking where we had the men and the women participate.
We are providing Electric cookers that are simple to use.
We are providing instalment payment plans through microfinance bank and cooperative.

Electric cooking is more than just a convenient way to prepare meals. It has the power to transform rural communities by providing ease and cost saving solution for a daily routine.

Ground breaking pilot project

Launch of Electric Cooking in Solar Mini-Grid communities Nigeria

Nigeria has over 120 solar power mini-grid with about 69,000 household connections and less than 0.5% utilize electricity for cooking.

This journey started in 2021 when our company as a productive use appliance supplier to Mini-grid communities, observed that out of the many households that were connected to the renewable electricity, none was using any form of electric appliance for heating or cooking., they still rely on Biomass for their cooking needs

After series of engagement which include collecting data through surveys, and interviews with the community members, our Electric cooking pilot project was launched in May 2023.

This pilot project introduces Electric Pressure cooker and induction Stove to households and businesses connected to the Solar Mini-grid as an alternative to Biomass for cooking.

We have adopted 5 Solar Mini-grid communities which includes Petti, Kilankwa 1, Kilankwa 2, Chikuku, and Rafin Zurfi ,located within FCT, Abuja

The amazing part is that this communities are willing and accepting of this modern cooking technology.

We are sure that the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria and the World Bank general target of enabling 10,000 Mini-grids in the next five years in Nigeria will avail millions of households to have access to cooking with electricity while improving their health and livelihoods.

#electriccookinginminigridsnigeria #electriccookinginminigridsnigeria #modernenergycookingservices #cleancookingalliance

Africa Climate Week

ACW 2023 and all the Regional Climate Weeks provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, businesses and civil society to exchange on climate solutions, barriers to overcome and opportunities realized in different regions.

The Weeks consider four major systems-based tracks with a view to providing region-focused contributions to inform the global stocktake:

✅️Energy systems and industry

✅️Cities, urban and rural settlements, ✅️Infrastructure and transport

✅️Land, ocean, food and water

✅️Societies, health, livelihoods, and economies.

The Nigerian Alliance for clean Cookstoves had a two-day Forum

The Nigerian Alliance for clean Cookstoves had a two-day Forum that brings together key policymakers, private sector leaders, research institutions, civil society stakeholders and international partners to discuss the draft clean cooking policy document and plans towards sustainable energy transition. The Forum also took stock of current status of clean cooking activities in the country especially at the state level; discussed how to leverage on carbon financing to expand access to clean cooking solutions and how to promote clean cooking in humanitarian settings.

Clean Cooking Saves Lives

Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum 2022

Join the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking (NACC) and key stakeholders for the Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum taking place in Abuja, Nigeria from October 6-7, 2022.

The two-day Forum brings together key policymakers, private sector leaders, research institutions, civil society stakeholders and international partners to discuss the draft clean cooking policy document and plans towards sustainable energy transition. The Forum will also take stock of current status of clean cooking activities in the country especially at the state level; discuss how to leverage on carbon financing to expand access to clean cooking solutions and how to promote clean cooking in humanitarian settings. Exhibition of clean cookstoves and fuels will take place concurrently with discussions.

UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE UK 2021

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. ‘In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow. In the run up to COP26 the UK is working with every nation to reach agreement on how to tackle climate change. More than 190 world leaders are expected to arrive in Scotland. Together with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks. Not only is it a huge task but it is also not just yet another international summit. Most experts believe COP26 has a particular urgency.

CLEAN COOK

People in middle income and low income countries still make use of open fires and simple stoves to cook their food. These methods of cooking can produce high level of dangerous cooking smoke which has been known to cause injury or death overtime especially to women and children who are often the primary cooks and fuel gathers for their families in the developing world. According to World Health Organization (WHO), household air pollution from cooking smoke kills four million people worldwide.  In Africa, Nigeria experiences the highest number of household air pollution.

Series of chronic illnesses associated with breathing such as emphysema, bronchitis, lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases can all be acquired from the smoke exposure produced from this method of cooking. This unsuitable method of cooking also contributes to climate change through emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and aerosols such as black carbon invariably giving rise to about 4% annual greenhouse emission worldwide.

Clean cooking is the method of application of cleaner, more modern cook stoves and fuels to lead a healthy and productive life. This helps in reduction of exposure to harmful smoke and beneficial to the environment and climate change. This method of practice can be divided into three main categories-through the use of electric stove, by the use of a cook stove based clean fuels(biogas, methane, ethanol, solar) and by the use of cook stove designed to burn biomass input(wood, charcoal, other biomass).

The clean cooking stoves are always applicable anywhere that unsuitable and polluting cooking means are being used. It comes in different types and sizes depending on factors such as the availability of materials, the climate, and the method of supply in the region. The benefits of this method include changing lives by improving health, protecting the climate and environment, empowering women and helping consumers save their time and money.

THE WORLD EARTH DAY

The world earth day which is celebrated every 22nd April of the year serves the purpose as a significant reminder that environmental protection is of utmost importance in creating a healthy environment.

The energy sector has for years played its role in the promotion of clean energy all around the world and continues to do so by providing clean energy which includes renewable energy amongst others which gives us to the benefit of enjoying;

 

  • A decrease in air pollution
  • Lower consumer energy bills
  • Greenhouse gas emission
  • Enhanced energy system reliability

Investing in clean energy around your environment to the best thing that you can do for the environment as the electricity gotten from these renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal do not in any way promote climate change considering that no fuels are combusted.

PRODUCTIVE USE OF ENERGY AND ITS BENEFITS

Productive use can be said to be the productive uses of electricity through means of agricultural, commercial and industrial activities involving electricity services as a straight source to the production of goods or service provisions.

This also gives a clear context of measuring energy that is productive in monetary terms Education, health, and other welfare related activities can be said to be included in the use of productive use of energy.

In small village businesses where we have the agricultural sector the use of productive energy through appliances such as the rice miller can increase quality of products and generate more income. 

Productive use can be used in rural areas to exponentially generate income for those aiming to amplify income generation opportunities, this invariably helps to improve quality of life and increase local resilience and self-reliance.

A clear scenario of where productive use was implemented to generate income was in the case of the owner of a small farm at Gwagwalada, Abuja Nigeria, who sells her Rice paddy at a giveaway price but with the use of a Rice Thresher that is connected to the solar mini-grid in her area, she has added value to her products and now generates more revenue which in time has improved the livelihood of her family.

Similarly, a man who simultaneously run a game center and a barbing salon and rely on the unstable source of power provided by the national gird electricity distributing company decided to invest in the energy excell solar panels. 

The social economic focus is a vital part for the growth of any community and if in the rural areas it is given the attention that it deserves will thrive, on the basis of the productive use of energy this can be achieved as we can expect an increase in rural productivity, high economic growth, and a high rise in employment, this would subsequently reduce the migration of the rural poor to the urban areas as well as generate income.

An instant would be the use of electricity as a derivation of lighting and power suitable for rural industries. If the productive use of energy is made available in these rural industries, it would expand and the quality of rural production would improve in such cases of welding, carpentry.

For agricultural production purposes, energy would be provided to power agricultural based industries and farm machinery as well such as water pumps, grinders and dryers resulting in the agricultural modernization products. The overall output of these modernized farms would provide input to large commercial enterprises.