– For Off-Grid communities
Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — Schneider Electric, global leader in sustainable energy solutions, pioneers’ initiatives to improve access to energy in Africa’s energy landscape. With a firm commitment to fostering a greener and more resilient future, Schneider Electric spearheaded discussions at a press briefing at the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) Conference, held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria, with a focus on universal access to sustainable energy solutions.
Present at the press conference were key representatives from Schneider Electric, Ajibola Akindele, Country President, Schneider Electric West Africa; Thomas Bonicel, Director MEAS, Access to Energy, Schneider Electric; Teina Teibowei, Commercial Leader, Micro-grid, Schneider Electric; Omobolanle Omotayo, Marketing Communication Manager, Schneider Electric West Africa, media representatives, amongst others.
Addressing critical topics concerning sustainable energy access in Africa, Ajibola Akindele, Country President, Schneider Electric West Africa began by sharing insights into Schneider Electric’s impact and the transformative initiatives undertaken across Africa and in Nigeria. “Schneider Electric is a Company that is almost 200 years old. We are a global company, a global company with a local presence in over 110 countries and 150 thousand employees across the world. Our mission is to be a global digital partner for sustainability and efficiency, empowering all to make the most of our energy resources, bridge progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider Electric, we call this Life is On. We have a proven track record and experience by the Corporate Knights Global 100 index as the top 100 world’s most sustainable corporation for the 12th time in a row.
“In Nigeria, we have over a hundred partners serving all our customers in regions we serve across various industries: power sector, real estates, transportation, oil and gas, telecommunication, and travel and tourism.
“With a million electricians, 6000+ official distributors of Schneider Electric, and 120 thousand point of sale distributors, Schneider Electric is a diversified company, closely knit to our customers, and delivering solutions that address the Nigerian market.” He said.
Thomas Bonicel, Speaking on Schneider Electric’s Access to Energy(A2E) program, emphasised the program’s mission to empower communities through clean and reliable energy access. “Schneider Electric’s Access to Energy program provides comprehensive approaches to support the universal access to sustainable, safe, and clean energy for developing countries including Africa, which includes training & entrepreneurship programmes, social & inclusive business, and investment funds. “In achieving sustainability, by 2030, we want to be net zero ready on all our operations, end-to-end carbon neutral value chain by 2040, and net zero C02 value chain by 2050.
Schneider Electric has a wide range of Access to Energy solutions suitable for electrifying small homes and micro-enterprises, fundamental public services, up to villages and communities.
“There are over 700 million people across the world without access to energy, 600 million in Africa and 95 million in Nigeria; at Schneider Electric, we have decided to deploy our Access to Energy solutions in Nigeria. Our major KPI is the impact measured by the number of connected people and with Villaya Flex, a latest Schneider Electric innovation, we are ready to support independent electricity access and renewable energy adoption in remote villages and off-grid communities,” He said.
Teina Teibowei highlighted that the “Villaya flex is a packaged, comprehensive microgrid solution that maximizes solar energy to minimize reliance on polluting gensets. It incorporates smart monitoring and an integrated management system to efficiently manage multiple energy sources, ultimately optimizing the mini grid’s performance. Specifically designed for rural, off the grid communities, it aims to ensure a dependable and sustainable energy supply to meet daily needs and power productive economic activities in these communities.”
Teina also noted that the Nigerian Government and World Bank’s joint efforts to extend electricity access to rural Nigerian villages. Schneider Electric’s Villaya Flex microgrid solution is well positioned to tackle the electrification challenges of these remote communities, potentially serving as a valuable asset for the World Bank’s Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale up(DARES) project.
Schneider Electric is committed to providing access to clean electricity to 50 million by 2025, and 100 million by 2030. To date, 46.5 million people have already benefitted from Schneider’s energy access solutions. Through innovative solutions like Villaya Flex, Schneider Electric continues to drive positive change, enabling sustainable development and resilience in off grid communities across Africa.
