Lateef, a commercial truck driver, recalls how the biogas plant was a source of hope and power for the market traders when it was first built.
Over the years, as population skyrocketed, experts have called for more innovative and value-added means of managing Lagos’ waste. “We generate biogas from the waste, which we then use to power street lights and flood lights for the market, because they get their delivery at night […]. This is a small initiative, there’s so much more we can do. We use fruit waste because, in that particular market, they deal on fruits like pineapple, pawpaw, watermelon etc. We tend to use one or two of them, not necessarily everything, because the more fruits you mix, the more complicated the process becomes.
However, an official who worked with Midori and the government on the Ikosi project explained that trouble began months after they inaugurated the Ikosi market biogas generator. Access to electricity keeps people connected, protects vulnerable populations, powers vital food processing and preservation facilities, and ultimately ensures healthy living. With cleaner energy, reduction in indoor air pollution means less vulnerability to COVID-19 and the other risks associated with generating sets used by traders in the market.
By 2030, according to its targets, there is projection to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix and double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.Traders, Customers lament Another trader who declined to have his name in print said, like many other market people, he charges his mobile phone at the shop of a kiosk owner who generates power from a generator, defying risks of being infected with Covid-19. He also complained about the amount he pays to get his phone charged daily, adding that poor electricity supply affects his operations.The economic cost of power shortages in Nigeria is estimated at around $29 billion, according to a world bank report.
Adebayo Qadri, an energy consultant based in the city of Ibadan, Oyo State, noted that as Nigeria struggles with its energy sector, there is a need to tap into the potentials in renewable energy.