NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES

Nigerian Government Launches Solar Energy Project for Rural Communities

The Nigeria Government has launched a new presidential initiative, a solar project, in association with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, to address the shortage and in some cases, total absence of electricity in the country.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said that the initiative is expected to be replicated all over the country.

“We expect that this would be replicated all over Nigeria. We are starting with 20,000 but I am sure that we would ramp up very quickly. We have been talking to the private sector about involving themselves also in this project. We think that as solar power becomes cheaper, and it is becoming cheaper really practically day by day, we would be able to afford to do even more, to deploy more across the country, especially to those places that are not at the moment served by our grid” he said.

“We cannot take all our power from the grid” he said, adding that in the next few years, it would not be absolutely important for people to be connected to the grid “because we would be deploying every type of off grid solution that we can deploy. And we want to do that in the industrial areas. It is also a job creation opportunity. We are going to be putting a lot of pressure on Azuri technologies to begin local assembly of all of the solar equipment right here” he said, adding that radiation here is excellent for solar power.

The Presidential initiative for Solar Home Systems is an initiative that is supporting the deployment of 20, 000 small-scale household solar systems to rural communities in Nigeria, in a bid to provide access to sustainable and alternative power solutions to address the immediate power requirements of the people.

The systems are designed for the needs of small rural households that are completely unconnected to the grid. These systems have the capacity to power four light bulbs, a radio, a torch and come with a USB port with charging cables for mobile phones. They provide up to 8 hours of lighting, home phone charging and clean, reliable, off-grid power.

The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Chiedu Ugbo, who was also at the launch of the project held at Wuna Village, Gwagwalada, Abuja, said that millions of Nigerians still rely on rudimentary lighting systems as they are not connected to the grid.

“There are many Nigerians, estimated at 70 million, like the inhabitants of Wuna village, without any connection to the grid, who still rely on rudimentary lighting systems characterized mainly by use of kerosene lamps, candles and petrol generators with attendant health and safety risks and indeed financial challenges” he said, at the event tagged ‘Beyond the Grid’.

The Power Holding Company and the Nigerian Government worked in collaboration with Azuri Technologies to plan and develop the solar power program, which is focused on providing clean and reliable energy for Nigerians.

The Chief Executive Officer, Azuri Technology, Simon Bransfield – Garth explained the importance of electricity to the people. “It is the thing that makes the World progress. It brings the Sun out at night. It allows us to talk to people wherever they are and benefit from entertainment, information and education. But historically, electricity has been for people in the cities.

Bransfield – Garth said further that, “with the development of solar power, it is possible to get energy anywhere. It doesn’t need to be fed with fuel every day. It just depends on the Sun, and that is something we can truly rely on”.

He reiterated that solar power in rural communities will have great and immediate impact on the communities. He said on average, students spend two hours extra per night, on their studies; hence, it is quite normal for students to go from mid place to top of their class in just a few months simply because they are doing that much extra work.

Bransfield – Garth highlighted that families also often use this extra time in the evenings to increase their income. Shop keepers are able to keep their shop open for longer. Farmers can process crops in the evening and be first to market in the morning. Everyone can keep their phones on all the time without having to worry about the cost of charging and can listen to radio all day without having to buy batteries.

Solar homes system is expected to provide energy during the day and to charge batteries to provide light and other services at night.

A small but very efficient solar panel is installed on the roof of the house and connected to a yellow box in the household containing a battery which drives devices such as light.

The system is unlocked each week with a small payment on the mobile phone and after three years, the system unlocks completely and no more payments are needed.