Mr Yusuf Suleiman, a renewable energy entrepreneur, has encouraged the establishment of a special bank for energy, to support renewable energy enterprise in Nigeria. During an interview yesterday in Abuja, he advised the government to look at the possibility of incorporating energy departments into all existing commercial banks.
Suleiman said,“The government should make available consumer financing. An average consumer is willing to spend N1, 000 every day for fuel, but he doesn’t have N360, 000 to do a solar solution. If you can find somebody that can give him N360, 000 to do solar, he wouldn’t mind paying that 1,000 every day for the next one year. When he has paid off, he will continue to enjoy his solar solution. There is a need for consumer financing to be supported by the government.”
He further explained that the government should also support renewable energy business by allowing investors to access dollar at the CBN rate so as to bring down the cost of solar deployment by 50 percent.
In addition, he urged the government to reduce taxes on renewable energy products, including batteries which now attract 20 per cent tax.
“Solar can really be made cheap but there is a need for some government intervention to make it cheaper,” he said while appealing to Nigerians to embrace renewable energy for domestic and industrial purposes.
