Prof. Eli Bala, Director General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), has revealed that Nigeria has the capacity to develop, biofuel as a substitute for diesel or petrol used for powering automobiles as well as heavy-duty machines and equipment.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on the sidelines of the ECN Quarterly Energy Lecture Series on Thursday in Abuja, Bala assured that moving away, therefore, from high carbon energy sources to low carbon energy sources will boost Nigeria’s energy sector.
Accordingly, he pointed out that biofuel is increasingly attracting attention worldwide as a direct replacement for diesel fuel in diesel engines.
He said all these and more would be possible through continuous development of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
However, he cautioned that the transition must be done cleverly in the country in an equitable manner..
He said: “First we must appreciate that we need energy for our development and electricity at affordable cost and very reliable.
“We must have the energy for transportation, for industrialization, for commercial activities, but the question is how do we go about it.”
He noted that in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), natural gas is a transition fuel which the present administration places much emphasis on, and that it must be developed together with other renewable energy.
The ECN boss explained that Nigeria has the resources, and in developing these renewables which also include biomass, hydro power among others, it has to be done with a technology involving energy efficiency.
Bala said for less carbon emissions, Nigeria is capable of developing biofuel or bioethanol which is a substitute for fuel also known as Premium Motor Spirit.
“Agriculture employs a lot of people, we can mechanise agriculture and make sure that more people produce the much needed carbon nitride, the bio fuel, the bioethanol and biodiesel.
“All these options are on ground, in fact the National Energy Policy emphasises the need for a wider energy mix based on the energy resources we have in this county,’’ Bala said.
He maintained that human capacity development was a pivotal element in achieving desired results.
He said the development of human capacity was very essential, not only in energy transition but to the nation as a whole.
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