Nigeria's vice president praises solar university initiative

Nigerian Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo (left) at the commissioning ceremony on August 2. Photo: Professor Osinbajo's office

A federal university in Nigeria has welcomed the commissioning of its first megawatt-scale solar hybrid power project, which will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and the grid and is expected to be replicated across all such institutions in the country.

Under the Nigerian Federal Government’s Education Revitalisation Plan, 37 universities and seven university hospitals are installing solar power generation facilities. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will commission a 2.8MW solar photovoltaic power plant at the Federal University Alex Ekwueme, Ikwo (FUNAI), Ebonyi State.

The Vice President also noted that projects at three other universities, including the University of Lagos, will be completed by the end of the year. Yemi Osinbajo explained that the project also marks a move towards reducing reliance on the national grid by adding resilient distributed energy facilities across the country.

The Vice President said the capacity of "several states and communities in the federation" would be enhanced to provide "universities and economic clusters with their own electricity".

“For example, we have our own power in Sabon-Geri market in Kano. We also have private power companies in Ariaria market in Abia state, including solar companies, and we also have a fuel and gas-based power plant there.”

The report did not provide details on the equipment used. However, Deepak Thakur, CEO of Sterling & Wilson, the EPC contractor for the Revitalise Education Project, was quoted as saying: “The installation of the 2.8MW solar hybrid plant will reduce the capacity of petrol and diesel generators, creating a cleaner and greener university campus atmosphere.”

The system is thought to include battery storage: the REA website shows a diagram of the project installation, which includes solar photovoltaic panels and batteries, with backup generators entering the local distribution line via a step-up transformer, and from there into the university's buildings, training center and school hospital via smart meters.

Vice President Osinbajo said the plan would "result in the retirement of hundreds of generators" as power supply, including street lights, improved. Osinbajo also stressed that other benefits of the projects include job creation for the projects themselves and renewable energy training for students, including giving more young women training opportunities in STEM sectors.

(Original source: Energy Storage News New Energy Network Comprehensive)