Give Your Soul To Solar!

By Rachael Arowolo

In Nigeria as well as most part of Africa, if there is anything we have freely and in abundance, it is the sun. The Solar system, a super charged gift from God; is a silent, inexhaustible, non-polluting, readily and widely available renewable energy with the capacity to deliver the earth from conventional fossils fuels that releases carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the environment.  This beautiful spectacle, a common feature in our sky gives us light and heat; but also waits anxiously to do more than drying clothes and farm produce.

It is no longer news that Nigeria is in serious energy crisis. Energy demand in the country overshadows the supply which is even epileptic in nature. Electricity in Nigeria dates back to 1896, and it was first produced in Lagos just after fifteen years of its introduction in England. For over 20 years even before independence, the power sector did not witness substantial investment in infrastructural development. Nigeria’s reliance on gas to generate power had often put the country in partial darkness, air pollution risk and daily disruptions of businesses and lives.

Today, non renewable fuel is depleting fast to a point where it is unlikely to sustain the great rate of the world energy consumption within the next 200 years. Coal, crude oil and natural gas cannot be easily replaced when they are used up. Since the discovery of oil in Oloibiri, Bayelsa, state in 1956, Nigeria has depended largely on it for revenue. But unfortunately both the economy and the environment had suffered great mishaps. The political drive and the insensitivity to the needs of the nation especially in areas of economic inclusion and environmental concerns of the communities wherein the resources were extracted had made thousands of people lose their lives yearly on oil theft and vandalism. Not only had individuals suffer but businesses fail if nothing is put in place to fill in for the depleting fuels. Countries such as China and United States of America now specialises in the making of generating sets, thereby; benefitting from the mishap. Companies now invest huge amount of money into the generator importation business, politicians also made the business blossom by embezzling billions of naira allotted to developing the power sector.

Recently, in an article written by Dayo Oketola Power failure: Nigerians burn N17.5tn fuel on generators in five years he analysed the amount an average Nigerian citizen expends in powering a generating set all year round. The most worrisome problems in the household using this system are its noise, maintenance cost, fuel cost, storing of jerry cans filled with fuels and environmental impact. The worst is even the case in rural areas where 54% of the Nigerian populace lives; more than 70% of these rural dwellers depend on wood as a substitute as many cannot afford to run ‘backyard generators’. People had been forced over the years to stick to gathering wood as an alternative to getting their food cooked; coal from the wood burning is used to get clothes ironed. For instance, Gbaji-Seme, a border community in Badagry West Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, claimed they lack asses to electricity for 16 years. Despite all, millions of naira is being plunged yearly into planting of woods to prevent desertification, whereas the underlying evil of electricity instability is not being combed. Kerosene and Petrol are purchased at prices that are in excess of the normal official price. The absence of reliable energy had not only left the rural populace socially backward, it has also made their economic potentials untapped.

Deaths due to careless use of kerosene lanterns and candles lit,  fumes from generators have always been recorded in Nigeria. The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the recent strike by the oil marketers where several Nigerians had to revert to twitter with #AintGotNoFuelForThat and #FuelScarcity to voice out the ridiculousness of this lack amidst of plenty. Many offices, banks, media houses and telecommunication companies’ activities were paralysed for days due to fuel scarcity

In 2003, Nigeria approved renewable energy as part of its national energy policy; it was called the Renewable Energy Programme. It was an eye-opener for renewable energy. Several Investors took up the mandate of spreading the credibility of the solar energy by wheedling people to accept the emergence of renewable energy. However, Nigerians are still sceptical of the new evolution, many believed it would not be able to stand the test of time and although the sun is free, there is a need to tap into rays through suitable devices which could be expensive. The initial cost of purchasing and installation of solar panels might seems exorbitant but when compared to the billing of the electricity companies and their fixed charged for maintenance with or without light every month together with its numerous outages over a period time. It can be said that solar energy is cheaper and less costlier than been connected to the national grid and running on fuels for generators.

What can be done to eliminate this menace? It is quite simple and easy. Embrace solar. Accept the sun energy; solar power is the last energy resource that isn’t owned and cannot be politicised and embezzled. Ban Ki-moon, said ‘we need to bring sustainable energy to every corner of the globe with technologies like solar mini grids and solar powered lights.’ How remarkable that day would be when Nigeria would boast of 24hour uninterrupted power access even in remote areas, where you do not have to go around with three power banks; where you will not need to iron your clothes for two weeks up front because you cannot tell when next power would be available, where you can buy perishable goods in bulk to be stock up in the refrigerators that have over time become decoration boxes? The day is here and now, rays of sun received everyday can be converted to reliable energy for our benefits. Then there will be a gradual reduction of energy bills on poor households and drastic elimination of air pollution and destruction of lives and property by conventional non-renewable fuels.

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Rachael contributed this piece from Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria where she works as a Business Development Analyst with Phoenix Solar, a social enterprise into last mile distribution of solar solutions in off-grid rural communities. You can tweets @phoenixsolarng for further interaction.