Kano — Nigeria is
one country in Africa with records of dismal electricity supply, a situation
that is forcing the people to search desperately for other sources of power.
In Kano, the
solar power technology is a recent phenomenon that provides suitable and
efficient alternative to the miserable supply network of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria (PHCN). And the technology is gradually gaining acceptance.
About
two years ago, in a quiet upmarket neighbourhood, the Goethe Institute, a
non-profit German cultural organization set up the first solar panel in Kano
State in a grand ceremony that witnessed the presence of the then state
governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and other top government officials.
The large solar
panels, which were said to have cost the institute almost N5 million was
installed within the premises of the century old Gidan Dan Hausa mud bungalow,
fortified with a barb-wired fence.
When Daily Trust
visited the location last week, it was gathered that the managers of the
institute were not back from the Christmas/New Year holiday. But one of their
assistants, AbdulHadi Adam, who spoke to our reporter, said the device has been
providing electricity to the building constantly, and has never developed fault
since it was launched.
"It
supports electrical appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners,
televisions, projectors, laptops, white fluorescent bulbs and other appliances
that don't consume much electricity. But it has some limitations; it doesn't
support pressing iron and boiling rings," he said.
Adam said the
device simply switches off itself when the level of consumption gets higher
than its capacity. He explained that the panels normally revolve in any
direction that has sufficient sun rays.
According to him,
during rainy seasons or other atmospheric conditions in which sunlight becomes
scarce, the panel could still work though the power supply may not be as strong
as when there is sufficient sunlight.
"For
instance if the batteries, normally charged by the solar panels, provide you
with light up to 24 hours, the number of hours may drop to like 18 or 10 when
sunlight is not sufficient...but it would continue to work," he said.
"It is
really an efficient alternative to the traditional electricity source used by
the PHCN," he added.
By
Nazifi Dawud Khalid
Daily Trust Nigeria