TheCable

Tosett Agro Industries Limited says it has witnessed a reduction in energy costs by 70 percent and lower carbon emissions from its operations after switching from diesel to gas plant.

Tosett Agro is a beneficiary of tax relief under the pioneer status incentive for processing edible oil.

Femi Olaoye, the company’s head of operations, said this in a recent statement.

Olaoye said beyond uninterrupted power supply, which has reduced the frequency of machine breakdown due to the sensitive nature of factory equipment, the consistency has helped the company better serve its customers.

“The major factor was that the quantity of diesel supplied and its cost did not yield an equal amount of work. In addition, difficulties around sourcing quality diesel abound as all the problems with diesel management,” he said.

“When you look at the cost of one standard cubic meter of gas versus the equivalent quantity of diesel, you will see that the difference in savings is massive. Gas is almost 70 percent less in terms of cost. So, it has saved us a lot of money as energy cost has come down.”

Clarke Energy, a multinational specialist energy solutions firm, supplied the 5.1 megawatts (MW) gas power plant solution at Tosett Agro Industries Ltd and its sister company JB Farms Ltd. The supply included design, technical drawings, engines, installation, and commissioning and currently provides equipment maintenance.

Yiannis Tsantilas, managing director of Clarke Energy in Nigeria, said, “the company has demonstrated its expertise in delivering reliable and durable power solutions to boost profitable agro-industrial processing in Nigeria.

“Its relationship with the leaders at Tosett Agro began before the commissioning of the initial 3.4 megawatts (MW) first phase installation in 2017. The expansion was possible because of the extraordinary leadership foresight at Tosett/JB Farms and their strong commitment to serving the expanding domestic demand for oil palm products. At the same time, ensuring food and feedstock security in Nigeria, through backward integration and creating wealth, especially for the farmers.”

Olaoye added that Clarke Energy provides the company with predictive and preventive support services because the generators are internet-enabled, allowing remote monitoring and support.

“If we have issues, we can call them to attend to it, even at odd hours. It is a whole system that has been built efficiently to ensure that we have consistency and reliability,” he added.

“Before now, many of the oils we consumed were imported and of low quality. But since we came into the field, we have been producing high-quality international standard oils for local consumption and industrial use.”

He said improved local production of edible oils has reduced the volume of foreign exchange spent on importation and created employment opportunities.