INTERNATIONAL POWER CONFAB SET FOR 3 NIGERIAN CITIES
An international power conference to examine the intractable electricity problems of Nigeria has been put together and will be held in three venues in Nigeria.
According to Engr. Amechi Aduba, a Nigerian-U.S.-based power systems engineer, the resources endowment and lack of adequate power supply are some of the issues that offshore and onshore experts will examine during the three-city seminar to be held October ending. Some bureaucrats are mulling over the idea of setting up nuclear plants to solve once and for all, the power debacle of the country.
Aduba, the lead Programmes Facilitator for the seminar, says there are alternatives that are cheaper, less complex, safer, environment-friendly, and in sync with worldwide mood which can be tapped into. These are fossil fuels, to which the world is emphasizing in the 21st century.
The seminars, midwifed by Savic-Stodad Corporation JV in collaboration with National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, will be holding in International Conference Centre, Abuja (October 31 to November 2), Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Lagos (November 7 to 9) and NICON Hotel, Port Harcourt (November 14 to 16), with the theme: 'Fundamentals of fossil fuels electric power generation'.
The seminars will examine the core basics of power cycles, steam generators, steam turbines and gas turbines for customized and functional power systems as the panacea to Nigeria's power problems. Fossil fuels target coal, oil and natural gas. The Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji will give the keynote address on the kick-off on October 31.
Power systems and other engineers from the private and public sectors, finance experts, policy makers of government, and others, will be pulled to these seminar to map out the way forward for the country so that the nation can realize adequate power supply in the shortest possible time.
The seminars will discuss and explain the basic fundamentals of how electric power is generated using fossil fuels. It is important to start with generation and the major components of the power plant that produce electricity. Most Nigerians even some engineers in the power generation field are unaware of what is inside power generating stations and how they are designed, engineered and arranged to function and produce electricity.
All the major equipment and their auxiliaries will be discussed and attendees will understand the function and the importance of each component. Basically, these are the equipment needed to process coal or oil or gas from anywhere in Nigeria so that these resources provide electricity for the citizens is what the seminar is all about. It is also about how the heat from burning fossil fuel produces steam, which in turn produces electricity. In a statement by Engr. Victor Amorha, the Managing Partner of Savic-Stodad Corporation JV, the solution to every power generation problem in Nigeria starts with discussing and examining it from the perspective of hands-on professionals that have relevant in-depth knowledge and experience that make the difference.
Fossil power generation system components are not off-the-shelf items that can be bought from manufacturers, rather the design customization starts with the evaluation and analysis of the raw fossil energy source which will guide engineers designing the various modules that ensure the equipment works efficiently after commissioning.
He also advocated that the best time for this initiative is now, because the Federal Government has a policy of farming out power generation to the private sector by licensing of about 30 Independent Power Producers.