The Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican in Rome, His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Turkson, is leading the Catholic Church in Africa to actualise the vision of Pope Frances under the renewable-energy partnership between Earth Our Common Home, ECHo and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, CSN.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Coast. He is also the Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, joined the Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese and some leaders of the Catholic church in Nigeria to perform a groundbreaking of an aspect of the renewable energy project at Veritas university, Abuja.
According to Cardinal Turkson, the ECHo-CSN Energy Programme has been established to develop renewable-energy solutions for Catholic dioceses, institutions, congregations and communities across Nigeria and Africa, which he said is being delivered in partnership with Husk Power Systems.
Cardinal Turkson and his team disclosed that the installation will combine approximately 1.139 MWp of solar photovoltaic generation with 2.118 MWh of battery energy storage.
For the Archbishop of Abuja, Ignarius Kaigama, Veritas University has been designated as the programme’s first implementation site.
He said it demonstrates a model that can be adapted and replicated across Catholic educational, healthcare and community institutions.
Excited Vice Chancellor of Veritas university, Professor Hyacinth Ichoku, said the project is intended to provide cleaner and more reliable electricity for classrooms, laboratories, libraries, digital learning, student hostels, campus lighting, security and other essential services.
In Nigeria, ECHo has worked with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Veritas University and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for sustainable investment across the Church’s institutional network.
ECHo’s work with CSN forms part of its wider relationship with the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the continental body bringing together Africa’s Catholic bishops.
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(Editor: Ken Eseni)
