Academy to Train 1000 Nigerians on Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy Academy of West Africa   has said it planned to train 1000 Nigerians in Renewable Energy application and entrepreneurship by 2012 in support of the much needed infrastructural development and youth employment in the region.

Chief Executive of the Academy, Mr. Emmanuel Emielu said the programme was in line with the Academy’s objectives of developing the entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to achieve a massive diffusion of renewable energy technology in Nigeria and across Africa, noting that it  was the entrepreneurs that will create the jobs and make the investments for the growth of the sector.

Emielu, who is also a member of the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA), disclosed that the Academy has laid out a number of specialised programmes with the support of her German partners, RENAC AG, and other sponsors.  Top on the list, according to him, were an international seminar in Ghana this April, a Renewable Energy Business Summit in Abuja in October this year and the Renewable Energy Summer School Programme for Nigerian youths.

He disclosed further that the Ghana seminar, which will be on Understanding  Renewable Energy Operations is to take place from April 12-15, and will help participants understand the technical, operational, and business dimensions of this important but emerging industry.

At a time the world is experiencing a wave of environmental disasters, analysts believed investment in renewables  was an opportunity whose time has come.

Emielu warned that Renewable Energy as a development enabler may well become elusive for Nigeria and Africa, except there is a massive attention to entrepreneurial education and skills development.

source : Thisday