About half of Nigeria's population is not connected to the grid. Poor coverage and frequent blackouts mean they rely on noisy, polluting generators. Are solar-powered generators a viable alternative?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hussein Market in Abuja is one of the major trading hubs in Nigeria's capital.
00:07It's much quieter here than it used to be, and a bird's eye view reveals why.
00:12Solar panels.
00:14Many traders have switched to solar energy and moved away from using fuel-powered generators.
00:19It's worth it because the cost of supply, the cost of energy has come down.
00:31That is one advantage of it.
00:33I always have a steady power supply since I introduced the solar.
00:39Many still rely on fuel gasoline generators because the supply from the national grid is unreliable.
00:45But with inflation and the removal of fuel subsidies in Nigeria, prices have exploded.
00:51People now think twice before turning on their generators.
00:55They are also very noisy.
00:58Two out of three users say they have a hearing impairment.
01:01Moreover, the toxic fumes are a health hazard and account for massive CO2 emissions.
01:08Nigeria is estimated to have around 22 million generators.
01:12Half of them are used by households.
01:15The other half by medium and small enterprises.
01:18In 2023, Nigeria emitted 129 million tons of CO2 from fossil fuels and industry.
01:26Almost 40% of that is thought to come from generators.
01:31And this is where the solar panel system widely used in Hussein Market was developed.
01:36A non-profit research institute based in Berlin.
01:39Its mission is to help people in countries with electricity shortages to switch from generators to clean solar energy.
01:46Using data on sunlight as well as power grid supply and demand, they've developed an optimized product that users dubbed the solar generator.
01:54That's basically the project that we call solar killed the generator star.
02:00Where we said we will basically look at what these fuel generators do on a daily basis for customers.
02:05So we analyzed their usage.
02:09And based on that, we decided to build a solar alternative, which our customers call the solar generator.
02:17Because for them, you know, fuel generator, solar generator, it's the same machine in the sense it does electricity for them.
02:24But the solar one is obviously much preferred.
02:27It's not just the typical inverter and battery for solar modules.
02:31It's also equipped with some more smart technology.
02:34The devices installed in Nigeria send live data to Berlin.
02:38So the system can be monitored and optimized for end users.
02:42For example, here you can see the systems we have installed in Nigeria with their exact location.
02:48You can see that most of the systems are installed around Abuja and around Lagos.
02:54So usually we see that a system is currently not sending data or sending faulty data.
02:59And what we do is we send an installer.
03:02We call someone in Nigeria, one of our project partners, and tell them,
03:06please check out this system in this location installed with this specific customer.
03:12And that's what they do on the ground then.
03:14The so-called solar generator is an affordable alternative to a fuel generator
03:19and helps bypass regular power cuts from the national grid.
03:22Users can rent the systems, including one year of repair and maintenance, for 20 euros a month.
03:29Or buy it in installments of 35 to 70 euros a month from partner companies in Nigeria.
03:35With current gas prices, a solar generator is often cheaper than a fuel generator.
03:41Basically, the solar pays for itself.
03:44If you are a business that runs generator all the time,
03:47that means you have an overhead cost already of fueling or servicing your generator
03:54or buying components and all that.
03:56So we just transfer that cost to paying once a month.
04:01And then you are able to pay for the solar system.
04:06Apart from markets, one of the main customers for the solar generator are healthcare centers.
04:12Thousands of them across the country have little to no electricity.
04:16Vaccines and medicines can sometimes not be cooled adequately, as well as the waiting rooms.
04:22Unlike here in this primary healthcare center in Abuja, where these infants are getting their first crucial vaccines.
04:30It now has a steady power supply from the solar generator, a big difference to before.
04:36And even if there is no light, if there is delivery, they use a touch light.
04:42And like for the other lab, if there is anything that we need to do, we go to other hospitals to run our tests.
04:52So by the time they brought the solar, everything is going well.
04:58Since 2019, the installed solar energy capacity in Nigeria has tripled, but it still only makes up 0.1% of the country's energy mix.
05:08But by the end of 2025, Nigeria's rapidly growing solar industry could face a major problem.
05:16Some politicians are pushing for an import ban on foreign solar products.
05:20And USAID, which supports the electrification of health centers, is set to be dissolved, following a decision in Washington.
05:27For now, we are aware that the cost of maintaining those systems is going to run for only a year.
05:38Now, that simply means that where there is a problem with that system after that year, we cannot attend to it.
05:45Meaning the hospitals are going to be in the dark.
05:48That means they are going back to where they used to be before.
05:52Solar energy users and providers are hoping at least that the potential import ban can be averted,
05:59and that technical innovations can ensure the continued development of renewable energies in Nigeria,
06:05and a steady and more reliable electricity supply.