Solar Energy to the rescue

Although, the sun has been in existence since man- or even before him, if we’re to follow the Bible and the Qur’an; it wasn’t until recently that scientists began inventing devices that can be powered by solar (Sun) energy. Medinat Kanabe, in this report, looks at the solar energy and how Nigerians can benefit from it.

As the world continues to evolve, scientists have continued to come up with alternative and easier ways of doing things, one of which is inventing devices that can be powered by solar.

Nigeria is a country beleaguered by very poor power supply, which has culminated in the people spending so much on alternative energy sources such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.  With the recent scientific developments, many Nigerian homes, organisations and individuals are fast embracing the solar options.

Fortunately, the common man is not left out in this development, as solar energy-powered equipment now come even in small lanterns, lamps and torch-lights, that can be carried around in replacements of the traditional fire lanterns and candles. Recall that fire lanterns and candles have contributed to disastrous fire incidents, claiming lives and property. With solar-powered home items, that problem appears totally eradicated.

Solar-powered items also come as mini-chargers for phone devices, and very affordable too. Many of them have the capacity to provide up to 60 hours of lighting, while also charging your phones. And as for the environmentalists, it is green-house energy compliant.

Prices for solar energy equipment ranges from as little as N1, 500 to millions of Naira, depending on what you’re subscribing to. This also depends on whether the user wishes to compliment it with the electricity provided by power stations or solely run the home or organisation on it.

The Enterprise Development Centre EDC of Pan Atlantic University, PAU, Ajah, Lagos campus, is a good example of a centre that runs solely on solar energy. Describing the building as a true example of environmental sustainable building in Nigeria and West Africa, the Director, EDC, Peter Bankole told The Nation that they invested heavily on alternate energy to power the building.

“The 2, 000 square meters EDC building, with three floors is significant in many ways. The first is that this building is a green building; as you walk into the main foyer of the building, there is an instant sense of light. We harvest at least 12 hours of natural light everyday; from the design stage, we wanted to save at least 40 per cent of energy usage when compared with similar buildings in Nigeria and across the continent; so we invested heavily in alternate energy.

“Embedded in the roof is 96 double length solar panel that produce enough energy to power all the streets and perimeter lighting, all the access control, CCTV, internet, IP phones, the lighting in the main foyer, the general office and 50 per cent of the air conditioning in the general office.

“Every floor is equipped with an online inverter system that carries other sensitive training equipment, from 5pm to 8pm everyday. On weekends and indeed at off peak periods, we run only on clean energy,” he said.

Matthew Oshomogho is a family man who lives in his solar-powered house with his wife and four children. He told The Nation that he stopped buying touch lights, fire lanterns and candles since he discovered solar energy.

“My sister, I built this house with all the money I had at the time and I have not recovered from it. I don’t want a situation where one day due to carelessness, my house will be burnt down. If I try to be very careful, what about my wife and children?

“When I first stopped candles and fire lanterns, I began to buy battery touch lights but they don’t last. So I discovered the rechargeable touch lights; but when we don’t have steady power supply, how do I charge them? Solar energy don’t need electricity to work; all I do is make sure the panel is outside during the day and by night I can use them in the house. Rain cannot spoil the panels, so I am not scared when it rains and there’s nobody at home to bring the panels in.”

Oshomogho is therefore of the opinion that very soon, Nigerians will be able to do without electricity, as there are solar energy panels that can power a complete building. He actually hopes to purchase one as soon as he can afford it, he revealed.

Oshomogho is not left alone in his conviction; stakeholders in the power sector recently called on Nigeria and other African countries to look inwards in order to overcome barriers confronting implementation of renewable energy across the continent.

The stakeholders who met at the 2015 Power-Gen Africa Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa agreed that Africa, especially the Sub-Saharan region, needs reliable and constant energy to develop.

Presenting his paper titled: “Overcoming barriers to solar and wind renewable energy development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A new perspective,” at the POWER-Gen Africa 2015 conference held in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa in July, Dr. Maurice Ngwaba of University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, United States, explained that other nations are developing reliable, sustainable and cost-effective energy sources because renewable improves business processes, reduces operational costs and green house emissions.

“Renewable energy development provides employment and improves quality of life. In the next 15 years, Africa will need $300 billion to have access to electricity. But the challenges that have been identified as constraints to adequate power supply in Africa include lack of infrastructure, present condition of existing infrastructure capacity and transmission limitations. All these make solar and other renewable energy development attractive,” he said.

Ngwaba further posited that Africa remains a great opportunity area with young and growing population, especially growing middle class. He quoted U.S Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, Arun Kumar, as saying, “the time is now to invest in Africa.”

On how to break the barriers against full utilisation of renewable’s potential in Africa, he advised African leaders to adhere to key values and orientations through trust, respect, accountability, responsibility, courage, transparency, collaboration and understanding the true state of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) culture.

“There is also the need to develop renewable energy policy that is integrated, clear and consistent with the economy, social and environment. Communication and dissemination of renewable energy policy to the citizens and to invest in renewable energy research and development,” he said.

He said the governments of African nations must, as a matter of urgency, provide regulatory standards, environment that supports investment, develop innovative and implement renewable energy project finance mechanism through tradable renewable energy certificates, bonds, credit assistance, cloud financing and solar leasing.

Specifically, Dr Ngwaba urged the Federal Government and Nigerians as a whole to explore a lot of potential and alternatives, which will enhance solar and renewable development.

“Solar leasing is just one of the various aspects where the Nigerian government and other investors can make it affordable to people who have the credit, the capacity to have solar system installed in their houses, and by so doing they can be paying the investors or the government that installed them the actual electricity produced in those areas. By so doing, they will be able to expand the number of people that have access to electricity.

“Privatisation of the power sector makes it possible for people to decide whether to stay on the grid or not. Knowing who Nigerians are, they would prefer to have their own system and control their units. By so doing, they are not affected by price increases that may come from the Distribution Companies (DISCOS).

“For instance, at Maryland University, in 2010, I installed the first 2.2MW system at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore of the United States where I got very good rate (9cents per kilowatt/hour) and was commissioned in 2011. Now, I’m developing a new firm called Green Power Developers Ltd that will focus on helping people especially Nigerians to develop solar renewable energy.

“The Federal Government has to create an enabling environment that includes incentive, tax credit. It can also support states to actually come up with bonds that can be used to create such infrastructures. You can sell municipal-backed bonds to create such infrastructure and it will go a long way to help develop the power sector,” he said.

For governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, solar is the key to power access in Nigeria.

The governor who spoke when he accompanied the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to a solar power agreement signed between Nigeria and the United Kingdom in London, said the application of solar technology in the provision of electricity in Nigeria would democratise power access to the rural poor.

El-Rufaí said the agreement was an opportunity for the country to acquire the latest technology in the sector.

“This is a great opportunity for Nigeria to leapfrog from where we are, to the latest state-of-the-art technology to provide electricity to the poor.

“Many people think that the only way to get electricity to everyone is through building huge power stations with transmission lines and distribution infrastructure. But in the last three to four years, there has been advancement in solar technology that has made it possible to democratise electricity in a way that you would have your own power plant in your own home to serve your needs instead of connecting to a centralised network.

“I think it is a great step; just as we leapfrogged from having half a million land lines to 150 million mobile phones. There is an opportunity here to leapfrog from having centralised power stations and transmission lines to 60 million Nigerians having electricity that they generate from solar energy in their own homes and paying for it on a pay-as-you-go basis.

“It is a great initiative and if we are able to follow it through, we will be able to take electricity to the poorest parts of Nigeria without having to do huge investments that we have sank in NEPA and PHCN without results,” he added.

To underline his conviction, the governor revealed that his state, Kadun,a is already funding the use of solar power in 40 primary healthcare centres.

“What we want to do when we go back to Kaduna state is to send a team to Tanzania and Kenya to see where this model has worked and immediately begin to deploy it because it is low cost, it can be done very quickly, you don’t need to spend three years building a power station.

First Published in The Nation of December 13, 2015