Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The European Union, German government and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have said Nigeria could save an average of 57.5 per cent of energy generated and used in-country through passive and active energy conservative measures.
They said through a model – the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG), which was launched in June by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the country could passively and actively save up to 40 and 75 per cents of energy.
They made these remarks recently in Abuja when the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) formally signed on to the BEEG. The partnership as stated, will train architects for two weeks on adopting energy efficiency in their building designs.
Through the partnership with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), which is managed by the EU and German government, and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (REEEP) of the USAID, the NIA plans to intensify the capacities of its members to build energy efficiency buildings, and in turn enable the Nigeria save this much of energy.
Both USAID and NESP said by switching to simple energy efficiency appliances at homes and homes in the country, the country could achieve between 30 and 40 energy savings, while the addition of renewable energy solutions could scale it up to 75 per cent.
They explained that the partnership with the NIA was initiated to scale up the professional skills of architects and builders in Nigeria, adding that they will from it adapt energy conservation methods in their projects.
Accordingly, the pioneer beneficiaries of the partnership will also escalate the knowledge on building efficiency to other members of the NIA.
The Head of Capacity Development for NESP, Felix Nitz stated at the launch of partnership that integrating energy efficient design features in buildings from conception, could control a building’s energy consumption and also contribute to achieving a more sustainable energy structure for Nigeria.
Nitz explained that it was important for new building projects in Nigeria to be more energy efficient, especially with Nigeria’s challenges with adequate energy.
Similarly, EU’s programme officer for energy, Marta Abrantes stated that Nigeria unlike most European countries have the unique opportunity to ensure that her buildings are mostly complaint with energy efficiency.
Abrantes explained that while Europe has already been built up, Nigeria which still has some gaps in its building infrastructure, could achieve an enviable energy efficiency model for its buildings. She said the country does not need to make the mistakes of Europe which is spending so much money converting her buildings to energy efficient structures.
Also, the President of NIA, Tonye Braide said in his remarks that the institute was pleased to enter into the partnership, and would be taking further steps to develop models that will enable buildings in Nigeria adapt to improved energy efficiency.
Braide also disclosed that the NIA would be exploring new partnerships to develop clean energy usage in rural homes in the country.
He said: “Professionals in the industry will become conscious of the need to adopt the principles of energy efficient building designs and contribute to energy sufficiency.
“We shall also seek further partnerships to develop clean energy business models along with exploring innovative financing models well suited for the micro-finance capacity of rural communities.”
