The frequent collapse of the national grid will not affect the power supply for electric vehicles in future, says Ademola Ogunbanjo, vice president of Oando Clean Energy Ltd.

Mr Ogunbanjo stated this at the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) stakeholders’ conference on Tuesday. He lauded the Nigerian energy transition plan, which sought to move away from fossil energy and invest in renewable energy resources such as solar, water, and other renewable energy resources to drive industry.

“There is the argument from people who wonder if a nation struggling to power homes, commercial activities and industry can roll out electric vehicles and be successful at it,” stated the Oando boss. “However, power is module and we are going to distribute modular power across the country to power charging infrastructure that will see to it that electric vehicles do not break down.”

According to Mr Ogunbanjo, the modular nature of power allows for the creation of charging infrastructure outside of the grid, which is lesser to maintain and operate compared to the internal combustion engine.

“We need to understand that the energy transition is not a threat to Africa but an opportunity for Africa to ramp up her development agenda using renewable energy resources,” he stressed. “We need to guard against making the same mistakes that had been made by the developed world who went ahead of us.”

He noted that the provision of energy through fossil fuel sources led to climate change resulting in rising sea level, temperature, ozone layer depletion, and carbon emissions.

“These were unintended negative consequences, but today we know better about how to use the earth’s resources, and it behooves us to do better,” he warned.

Mr Ogunbanjo also mentioned that it was necessary to transit responsibly in a sustainable way so that “our health would not be impaired and our environment not damaged for the next generation.”

(NAN)