INTRODUCTION
Energy for obvious reasons is regarded as the prime mover of any economy, and the engine of growth around which all sectors of the economy revolve. Thus, it becomes imperative that its development, management, and improvement must have predetermined plans and strategies that are capable of driving the economy towards a sure path of sustainable development .West African region has one of the lowest per capita consumptions as far as energy is concerned. On the other hand, the energy-GDP ratio of most of the countries in the region is higher than those of developed nations.
Although, energy has been a major driver for human and technological development, it has also contributed to local and regional environmental degradation and more recently, to global environmental threats.
Moreover, electricity-generating capacity in Africa with respect to the population is low. For instance in 1997, it was only 94 GW which was only 3% of the global total (EDRC, 2002). Nigeria’s energy demand has increased much more rapidly than its population. The consumption of energy, especially fossil fuels, releases CO2 into the atmosphere. This has made the energy sector to be recognized as the largest source of CO2, which is the most important of green house gases (GHG) emissions globally. GHG has attracted worldwide concern because of their effects on the environment, especially the climate. Another hidden feature in the development and utilization of energy is the environmental implications of energy production and use.
At the World Energy Summit in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, a consensus was reached that legal action should be adopted for the abatement of CO2 emissions associated with inefficient use of energy.
In most of the developed countries, the food processing industry provides an important link between the farmer and the consumer. This industry is vital to assure a uniform supply of foods throughout the year.
However, the food manufacturing companies in Nigeria use electricity for virtually all their daily activities especially in the area of machinery and instrument operation during production. This electrical energy is obtained either directly from national grid or from company’s stand-by diesel-powered generating set.
The problem Research has shown that food industry wastes energy in areas such as boiler plant, service water reduction, air handling system, room conditioning unit ,self-contained heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment building air leakage, poor control and use of sunlight, artificial lighting, independent energy-using components, among others .The problems discussed above have greatly contributed to high cost of production in the Nigeria food industry. Though the extra costs are passed unto the helpless consumers, these products lose the competitive advantage when placed side-by-side with their foreign counterparts.
The following questions prompted this topic: How is energy used in food industry? How is energy saved /wasted in the food industry? What is the energy saving technologies/devices used in the food companies in South-western Nigeria to minimize energy losses? What are the best areas for reducing energy consumption in electrical equipment? And to what percentage can food industries reduce their energy bills?
The specific objectives of this seminar topic were therefore to examine the pattern of energy consumption in selected food companies in South-western Nigeria; identify the sources of electrical energy waste in food industry; assess the effectiveness of the strategies for electrical energy savings in the industry, and develop appropriate strategies for effective energy savings in the industry.
METHODOLOGY
The data for the study were collected from 210 randomly sampled micro and small-scale food and beverage companies contained in the publication of the ISIC in South-western Nigeria. The Companies belong to the following sectoral groups: beverage and tobacco products, pure water processing and packaging, palm oil processing, bakery products, grain mills products, and cold rooms. The study employed the use of structured questionnaire, oral interview and direct observation techniques. Secondary data source from private and government publications (published and unpublished) were also used. The questionnaire and oral interview were for business owners, production managers, utilities or factory managers or engineers and workers within the production section of the food companies in the study area. The information that was gathered was sorted, edited and coded. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analyses. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis.