Utility meters measure the amount of used electricity. The utility installs a meter between incoming electric power and point of distribution
Steady power supply remains an enormous problem in Nigeria and some parts of Africa. While generators have been the most dependable option for residents of these power-affected countries, others have sought ways to reduce pollution and enhance environmental health.
Solar energy has become a fast-rising alternative to generators for many individuals. They offer a lot of advantages and have reduced running costs in comparison with their alternatives.
If you don’t how to buy solar energy in Nigeria or you’re seeking the best place to make a purchase, then you’re about to get the best deal you’ve ever seen from a solar energy company in Nigeria and Africa.
However, before we delve into the core aspect of this conversation, let’s talk a little about solar energy, its perks, and what it offers better.
What is Solar Energy?
According to Wikipedia, solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants, and artificial photosynthesis.
It is a basic source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar, depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power.
Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
A lot of organizations have voiced their opinions on the importance of solar energy and how it can help build a greener environment. Companies like Green Village Electricity Group have started to make huge contributions towards this goal by promoting the use of solar energy in Nigeria and across Africa.
How Does Solar Energy Work?
Solar energy can be used for many purposes as electricity is only one among so many other reasons. When you consider the vast possibilities that this resource can give, then you will pay more attention to how you can convert this resource to aid you with your daily living.
According to Infinite Energy, solar power works by converting light from the sun into electricity. This electricity can then be used in your home or exported to the grid when it’s not needed. This is done by installing solar panels on your roof, which generate DC (Direct Current) electricity. This is then fed into a solar inverter, which converts the DC electricity from your solar panels into AC (Alternating Current) electricity.
When you use solar power, you don’t need to keep an eye on the machine. It goes off and comes on at times when solar energy feels it possesses the capacity to sustain the electricity in the environment. With a good inverter, you can get to know the amount of energy you consume and this information will help your regulation.
Further Reading: All You Need to Know About Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems
How To Buy Solar Energy in Nigeria | Specifications & Prices
If you want to buy solar energy in Nigeria, taking the right steps will ensure you make a great choice. If you fail to follow these instructions I will outline below, you may end up dissatisfied with any choice you make. The process of buying solar energy in Nigeria comprises:
1. Determine How Much Solar Power You Need
You can determine your solar power by calculating the voltage power of every appliance in your home. The addition of all the numbers with some recess will give you the value of how much power you need. Generally, you cannot do this without knowledge of electrical systems, so you would need to consult specialists in that area.
2. Outline Your Budget
Once you’ve immediately determined how much power you need, you can set out a budget that will cater to your power needs. Most of the time, you might not be able to procure enough solar power. However, you can always follow the next step to take care of that problem.
3. Head over to Solar Packages on GVE Group Webpage
Once you run your numbers and you feel you can’t hit your target, you don’t need to give up. You only need to see the Solar Packages on the GVE Solar Company Website.
These packages offer you so much that you can find something that will cater to all your needs without burning a hole in your pocket.
4. Get a Quote
Immediately you visit the page and find the offer that suits you, you simply need to get a quote. By getting a quote, you get an opportunity to access personalized offers that will interest you. Furthermore, you can get access to the support team.
5. Make Your Purchase
It would all be an exercise in futility if you don’t make a purchase. Hence, you need to ensure you make that transfer or input that credit card. You need to see this as an investment into a solution for your power problems.
Conclusion On How To Buy Solar EnergyIn Nigeria
Constant electricity remains a problem in many African countries. However, GVE Group is changing the narrative by offering super and affordable solar panels, which are a great alternative to normal electricity. With these panels, you’re not dependent on any regulatory agency for power as you take complete control.
Electrification is popular in cities and modernized areas. Many localities lack electricity and even if they do, they aren’t sustainable. A lot of political leaders underestimate the importance of rural electrification, especially in Nigeria and other countries of Africa, and this neglect has cost these countries stunted growth.
According to All Africa, rural development through rural electrification can contribute to achieving most MDGs in Zambia.
Similarly, making Zambia a middle-income country by 2030 isn’t easy. It needs the identification of sectors that have greater multiplier effects and the allocating of scarce resources to such sectors for a better tomorrow.
When countries like Zambia have identified the importance of this process, then it is a very important process. So, this article will strongly comment on rural electrification, its processes, and most importantly, the importance of rural electrification in Nigeria.
What is Rural Electrification?
Rural electrification simply means drawing electrical power to very local and remote areas. The neglect involved in this process has cost many communities their drive to be innovative and contribute actively to the overall progress of a nation.
Electrification typically starts in cities and towns and gradually inclines toward rural areas. However, this process often runs into obstacles in developing nations like Nigeria. Expanding the national grid is expensive, and countries consistently lack the capital to grow their current infrastructure.
Furthermore, amortizing capital costs to plummet the unit cost of each hook-up is harder to do in lightly populated areas, yielding a higher per capita share of the expense.
If countries like Nigeria can overcome these obstacles and achieve nationwide electrification, rural communities will reap considerable amounts of economic and social development.
How Does Rural Electrification Work?
Rural electrification doesn’t work in a pattern dissimilar from city electrification. However, because of the low population density, other options such as solar energy come in very handy instead of connecting so many grid lines.
With great solar-powered connections, rural communities bear fewer costs on electricity bills and don’t need constant help in maintaining their electricity lines. And this is very possible when they know how to buy solar energy in Nigeria or any other African nation suffering from this same problem.
Many countries have faced the challenges of poor rural electrification problems, and a good number of them have overcome or are on track to overcome them. An example from Wikipedia would be:
Gram Oorja
Like many other microgrid companies, Gram Oorja has set out to provide electricity to the millions who lack access to power in rural India. Gram Oorja created a model based upon “corporate-social partnership” and gains funding from corporate charity funds.
Their first project was in Darewadi, a rural village with 39 households. Gram Oorja raised funding from Bosch Solar Energy and received consultation and guidance from the Shakti Foundation.
They installed a solar power plant capable of producing 9.4 kilowatts of power with a backup biogas unit to produce energy when sunlight is not available. Local ownership of the project is one of the key tenets of Gram Oorja’s business model, so they encouraged participation in the setup and management of the mini-grid. A village trust collects bills every month and deposits the revenue into a corpus fund.
This hybrid model proved to be successful and has been implemented in over 10 villages. Gram Oorja currently has an installed capacity of 45.7 kW and serves 230 households. They have also partnered with Bank of America to continue to implement these projects across India.
The Importance of Rural Electrification in Nigeria
No country has experienced strong levels of development without giving huge importance to rural electrification. In a country like Nigeria, still battling electricity problems, identifying and highlighting the importance of this system will cause the nation to start making important moves toward progress.
When considering the importance of rural electrification, let’s identify them in terms of:
Education
Education is the primary ingredient that boosts the mental and behavioral intelligence of a child. With access to quality electricity, children can easily study without fear of power failure and use bright lights that help them preserve their vision, unlike candles.
A lot of countries that have adopted rural electrification commented that the process has helped students study better and perform at the same level during their tests and examinations. Teachers have also benefited greatly as they can create more notes and teach for longer hours.
Increased Productivity
With efficient rural electrification, businesses can run for longer hours with reduced overhead costs. This way, they can employ more people, which will in turn reduce the unemployment rate and improve the national economy.
Additionally, farmers can leverage modern technological patterns of agriculture that are centered on electrical machines.
Job Creation
Efficient rural electrification will lead to a progressive community. With constant electricity, more factories will increase their manpower as they will seek to continually remain productive. With more people working, economic growth enters the fast track.
Healthcare Improvements
Most healthcare equipment is electrically powered. And most of the time, patients need equipment like air conditioning to work optimally when they’re in a recovery stage. Sterilizers and refrigerators will work optimally, and this will help the overall improvement of the health industry.
Conclusion
When you know the importance of rural electrification in Nigeria, you will seek to ensure your committee benefits greatly from a process that will improve their lives.
Green Village Electricity (GVE) Projects Limited is the foremost and most innovative renewable energy solutions provider in West Africa, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria (RC1071222).
Our clients trust us as the most reliable renewable energy company delivering world-class service with a touch of unique local contexts because of the value we bring to the table.
Send us a message now to get a custom solar quote tailored to fit your needs.
Plateau State, Nigeria – On December 3, 2020, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through its Implementing Agency – Rural Electrification Agency (REA), commissioned a 234KW solar hybrid mini grid power plant in Shimankar Community, Shendam Local Government Area. The project, which is one of the many solar mini projects to be commissioned under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), will provide clean, safe, affordable and reliable electricity for the community members.
The REA Managing Director/CEO, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, emphasized the Federal Government’s commitment to meeting its developmental goals by providing electricity access for all. Reiterating REA’s role, she stated that “as an agency, we are responsible for powering unserved and under served communities, therefore, it is fulfilling every time homes, businesses, schools and medical centres are connected to sustainable solar power. Almost immediately, we are able to witness rural communities being transformed with clean energy through the jobs that are created during construction, to their micro and small businesses scaling to larger capacity thanks to reliable electricity.”
His Royal Highness Miskoom Maurice Danjuma Manu III, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and the private sector developer for providing electricity to their community. “Our businesses are now fully operational; especially at night. Our businesses are growing; we can buy and enjoy cold beverages in the provision shops. Today is indeed the beginning of better things to come for Shimankar.”
GVE Projects Limited Chief Executive Officer, Ifeanyi Orajaka, shared that the installed mini grid comprising a total of 234kw of Solar PV, 236kWh of Lithium Battery Storage and 100KVA of Diesel Backup generator, will adequately energize the community. He also mentioned that the solar hybrid mini grid in Shimankar aims to provide reliable electricity to One thousand Nine hundred and Seventy Two (1,972) Households, Two hundred and Seventy three (273) Commercial Users, Five (5) Productive Users and Nineteen (19) Public Users in the community to improve the socioeconomic life of the community. “It is a thing of pride that GVE, an indigenous Nigerian firm, can be a part of developing Nigeria’s rural areas. Thanks to this project, Nigerian solar developers, like myself, can access these investment opportunities and participate in growing Nigeria’s evolving off-grid sector.”
Shimankar Community now joins the many communities across Nigeria experiencing social and economic progress thanks to the solar mini grids project under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
“We are very proud to have financed this project that enables GVE to bring clean, reliable energy to Shimankar, in line with our mission to increase off grid energy access in Nigeria,” said All On CEO, Wiebe Boer. “This will create thousands of new electricity connections, and we expect to see measurable productivity growth and economic benefits for the community in the near future.”
ABOUT GVE
Green Village Electricity (GVE) Projects Limited is Nigeria’s leading PV solar mini-grid solutions provider. GVE’s business footprint covers the design, sales, installation and maintenance of renewable energy solutions for residential, commercial, industrial and rural off-grid or under-served communities through commercially sustainable business models in line with our clients’ needs.
ABOUT SHIMANKAR COMMUNITY
Shimankar is an agrarian settlement on the banks of River Shimankar in Plateau State, which drains into River Benue at Ibi town in Taraba State. It is the 4th largest community in Shendam Local Government Area with the traditional rulership residing in Miskoom Maurice Manu Danjuma III.
ABOUT ALL ON
All On, an independent impact investing company, was seeded with funding from Shell, and works with partners to increase access to commercial energy products and services for unserved and underserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, with a special focus on the Niger Delta. All On invests in off-grid energy solutions spanning solar, wind, hydro, biomass and gas technologies deployed by both foreign and local access-to-energy companies that complement available grid power across Nigeria and help bridge its significant energy gap.