In this interview with ENERGY TIMES, the General Manager of Beebeejump International Limited, Mr Peter Zhang, x-rays how alternative energy sources can help Nigerian businesses attain their required growth
Excerpt
How will you describe your experience in this sector?
As a worker in the renewable energy industry, I have worked in the solar industry for more than 10 years and have witnessed the development of the solar industry and the explosive growth of the renewable energy storage market.
However, the first thing that needs to be addressed in Africa is the ability to provide after-sales support; it’s a rigid demand for renewable energy in Africa. If the developed regions demand the pursuit of profit and environmental protection, then solving the electricity shortage is the first thing in Africa. In the continent, the renewable energy industry has only just entered its infancy, and is in serious need of professional and technical personnel, so it’s a very important factor for development in Africa to have perfect technical training and after-sales service.
What challenges is the company facing in areas of alternate solutions
Beebeejump is a leading brand of a solar energy company in Africa. Founded in 2018 in Nigeria, we are a high-tech enterprise integrating research and development, production, sales and service of new energy storage. We seek to provide millions of quality and affordable products in Nigeria and Africa at large to solve the problem of unstable power supply through the solar power generation of electricity.
To achieve this, we introduced the optional payment system for our products: PAYGO. That is; an installment payment. With this payment mode, due to the impact of the covid19, a lot of increased defaults in repayment caused by low cash flow, this has been a huge challenge for us, but we still focus on the application scenarios of household energy storage, industrial and commercial energy storage, with our vision, we ensure that all can enjoy an easy life with electricity.
Who are the company’s target market and how do you meet their divergent needs?
We focus on the main market in Nigeria, and we also are cooperating with Nigerian companies through our distributorship scheme, and gradually hand over the market to the local companies;
Except for Nigeria, we have started to cooperate with other companies in Africa, we support and empower the local companies by providing them with the technique and after-sales support; All BEEBEEJUMP products are certified by LG, IEC, CE, ROHS, UL, UN38.3, etc., which those standards are in line with the technical and safety standards for each country;
How has been the acceptance level of your services over the years?
Over the years, because our solar products are available on PAYGO, and which is on record that we are the first solar company in Nigeria to initiate this successfully, we have become the number one choice among other solar companies when it comes to the production of solar home systems, this made it easy for people to buy our products and be able to pay “small small” as it is said in our local language.
For example, our S1 system at the time was available on a 3-year plan, where people could pay as low as 10-20% of the full payment, and spread the remaining payment for 3 years. With this we have put a lot of Nigerians in charge of their electricity bill and electricity usage; hence, they don’t need to rely on the national grid. Many Families rely on us for constant electricity to enjoy quality family time after the day’s work and on weekends. So many businesses that will naturally close business early due to unstable power and insecurity, can now sell longer into the night as a result of the ray of light from our bulbs.
What makes solar energy so essential than any other kind of energy source?
Solar Energy is a clean, affordable, and sustainable way to generate electricity. Along with substantial financial benefits, solar power has significant environmental benefits as well.
It reduces air pollution, harmful carbon dioxide and methane emissions from fossil fuels, our traditional energy source, which are leading contributors to global warming and decreased air quality. Generating electricity with solar panels, however, produces no greenhouse gasses whatsoever and thus reduces air pollution.
It reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. Solar energy production does not require fossil fuels and is, therefore, less dependent on this limited and expensive natural resource. As opposed to fossil fuels, which draw on finite resources that may eventually become too expensive to retrieve, renewable energy sources are generally unlimited in availability.
Solar energy reduces the climate change risks associated with power generation using fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels to produce energy has led to the serious threat of global warming and irreversible climate change. Solar power is now competitive with other sources of energy without emitting the dangerous greenhouse gasses that cause climate change.
A residential solar panel system has the capability of providing for the electricity needs of an entire home with about 80% lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels. Installing a residential solar panel system will lower your home’s utility bill while significantly reducing its annual carbon footprint at the same time.
One of the biggest advantages of solar power is that it positively impacts human health. Studies show that these dangerous pollutants can cause several severe respiratory problems, including asthma, bronchitis, pulmonary inflammation, and chronic respiratory disease, as well as cardio health issues, such as heart attack and stroke. Solar power results in fewer health problems, and lost workdays related to health issues. Reducing air pollutants can prevent unnecessary healthcare costs and save more lives. According to research, some information surfaces that 2.2 million people worldwide die prematurely every year due to the pollution generated by the use of solid fuel lighting.
Solar energy is a natural resource that will not run out; the advent of solar energy is the greatest invention of mankind in the 21st century;
What will you suggest Nigeria can do to accelerate its renewable energy plan?
Behind every developing community or society, there is a stable supply of power. A country with a good supply of electricity is far more developed than a country with less supply of electricity. Regular electricity contributes to the socio-economic development of any country.
In countries where a regular supply of electricity is not a challenge, businesses both local and foreign would want to invest their money in such an economy. The impact of stable electricity cannot be overemphasized. When these companies invest and stay in the country, they will be paying taxes to the government, and also employ the citizens of the country, which in turn means the government would have more money in their coffers through taxes and be able to provide the citizens of such a country with improved health care, good roads, quality education and development of infrastructural projects in the country.
This goes to say that the government of the day needs to look into providing its citizens/business with an uninterrupted power supply to help them navigate their daily business seamlessly. Dependence on the national grid has proven over time that it would never be stable, hence the need to look for a cleaner and more reliable alternative, which is solar electricity- which involves the usage of the Sun to provide constant electricity.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on the 11th of February, 2021, while chairing a meeting in Abuja said the Country is looking at investing in green energy to reduce carbon emission by 20% by 2030. This again is only possible, when we consider solar electricity as a priority and not just a backup plan for the unreliable national grid.
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After the COP27 meeting, the world is working towards carbon neutrality and carbon peaking, and it is a common goal for all mankind to work together to maintain a green region; in addition, with the intervention of countries represented by China at the national level, the large-scale production and installation of products has greatly reduced the cost of solar KW installation; the cost of solar power is now on a par with fossil fuel power generation, so the gradual reduction of fossil fuels is already an inevitable trend, both from an environmental perspective and from a cost perspective;
Nigeria is starting in 2020 through a federal government initiative on the installation of 5 million solar products in Nigeria, which will solve the employment of 250,000 people; Nigeria is rich in natural resources, with sunshine hours reaching 2,600 hours per year in some areas, which is ideal for the development of the solar industry; over 80 million people can solve their electricity problems through decentralized solar off-grid systems;
Nigeria’s solar industry is expected to boost GDP by 1% by 2030 as demand continues to grow; the solar market will reach a size of US$10 billion; thus adding millions of jobs;
What is your projection for renewable energy after the removal of the fuel subsidy?
The removal of subsidies in itself is a welcome development, both as a nation and as a part of the solar industry in Nigeria. Before May 29th, taking Lagos as a case study, fuel used to sell for N185 per liter, which means for someone in Lagos that wants to power his/her smallest generator with 5 liters of fuel such a person will be spending, N925 per day, N6475 per week, N25900 per month, and N310,800 per year to generate his own electricity. Originally, this was considered high. Now with the removal of subsidy from fuel, which now sees fuel is being sold at N488 per liter in some areas in Lagos and as high as N540 in some other states in Nigeria. For someone who wants to fuel his/her small generator with five liters of fuel, such a person will be spending N2,440 per day, N17,080 per week, N68,320 per month, and N819,840 per year. You will agree with me that this is outrageous, and it is not a wise decision to continue with this. Hence, instead of using that huge amount of money to fuel your generator, people will rather make the wise decision to buy a solar system that you will get for a lesser amount. Among renewable energy sources, solar power generation can solve the problem of electricity at a very small investment cost; ultimately, the removal of fuel subsidies will drive more Nigerians into embracing the opportunities that the renewable energy industry offers. The choice of solar off-grid power products will become the first choice for changing electricity in Nigeria; the solar industry in Nigeria will also grow rapidly.
What are the major issues facing clean energy development in Nigeria?
The local market for renewable energy in Nigeria has been developing for more than a decade, but has not been able to form a scale: firstly, because of the high cost of installation; secondly, because of the lack of supporting after-sales service, many products can not be used once they are sold with quality problems, and no manufacturer can be found to solve the problem; thirdly, because the quality of products in the market varies, and the price of poor quality is low; this has led to the bad money drives out good. Another challenge is that of acceptability. Most people believe that solar products especially batteries don’t last long, forgetting that there are different types of batteries – Tubular, lead acid, AGM, Gel, lithium-ion batteries. Of all these batteries, lithium-ion batteries are the best in the market and they have a longer lifespan compared to other batteries. Although, in our capacity as a company we are trying to remove this erroneous belief in the minds of people through education and enlightenment so that people can go for good batteries and not just any solar battery.
How could Nigeria’s power sector be improved?
The power sector, as an important sector in the country’s industrial development, could consider a combination of renewable energy and petrochemical power generation. Nigeria is blessed with an intense Sun and water surrounding it. These two natural elements can be converted into producing affordable and stable electricity for her populace, and we are also blessed with crude oil, gas is a bile product of crude oil, instead of wasting, there are technologies that help in the conversion of the gasses to electricity for home and business use. There are already good examples to refer to in China; the power company is gradually becoming a service-oriented institution from power generation, grid construction to sales of electricity; staggered peaks on the grid, peak deployment, etc. to ensure industrial and residential electricity consumption.
