Nigeria’s Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, has called on Lafarge Africa to support the government’s drive towards ensuring adequate power generation and distribution in industrial hubs.
Fayemi says the use of biomass saves money that would have been used to buy fuel and foreign exchange and power from biomass plant will generate half of the energy used in firing the kilns.
Lafarge had revealed that it was recycling palm kernel shells as biomass to generate power for the kilns used in cement making.
The Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Michel Puchercos, says the slowdown in the Nigerian economy prompted the company to seek an alternative to generate energy for its Ewekoro and other plants.
Michel says Ogun State being an agriculture hub, made it possible for the company to produce 50 per cent power from biomass in 2016, which has grown to between 70 and 80 per cent.
