By ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Blue Carmel Energy Ltd, a leading indigenous solar energy solution provider in Nigeria, has said it attaches great value to the Abuja International Housing Show (AIHS) because it provides the platform for it to create awareness about its activities and assure members of the public that it is possible to live off grid with renewable energy solutions.
Speaking at the just concluded just concluded 15th edition of the annual event held for four days at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, Nigeria, the Head, Operations, Blue Carmel Ltd, Bathlomew Anzaku, said one of the major challenges confronting the business in Nigeria is that many people ignorantly believe that solar is capital intensive and are scare from keying into it, whereas it is not so.
He said in a bid to make the solar system affordable to Nigerians, different payment plans have been arranged.
“For instance, we did some street lights under a payment plan of 36 months,” he said.
Another challenge, he said, is the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange (FOREX). He therefore appeal to government to ensure that access is made easy for business to thrive.
Commending the organisers of AIHS, Anzaku said, “This year’s show has been very impressive so far; people turned out in spite of the COVID-19, and we are making impact in terms of creating awareness about what we do.”
Speaking further on what the company does, Anzaku, who said, “We are renewable energy specialists,” adding that the company deals in solar energy and solar accessories.
“Aside providing solar solutions, we also train people and render consultancy services in solar across the country. We have a solar plant in Kaduna where we assemble solar accessories. We have done a lot of solar projects in Nigeria, including domestic and corporate stand alone,” he said, adding that the company had deployed about 18, 000 locally made solar street lights across the country so far.
Explaining the rational behind training youths alongside the services, the Blue Carmel Chief Operator said, “We have trained over 400 youths. We normally train them in the areas where we operate to guarantee project sustainability because we use have warranty of 4 to 5 years on our products and services. And we pay those youths within the period.”
