African countries often have unreliable power grids, and state-run electric utilities that are prone to blackouts and power outages. Citizens are now taking matters into their own hands by buying solar panels to power their TVs, light bulbs, and household appliances.
The most populous African country, Nigeria, “is importing record quantities of solar panels, which are helping its citizens cope with the country’s notoriously unreliable power grid,” reports The Doomslayer. Mini-grids made up of solar panels and batteries are being used to power some localities.
The Financial Times adds:
Imports of solar panels from China into Africa rose 60 per cent over the year to June, energy consultancy Ember estimates, with coal-heavy South Africa leading the way.
Nigeria has become the second-biggest importer in the past year by overtaking Egypt, with imports of 1.7 gigawatts of solar panels. It still lags behind nations with a similarly large population, such as Pakistan, which imported an estimated 17GW of solar panels last year, showing the room for growth.
‘It is a response to a problem . . . You can’t rely on a 24/7 grid in most parts of Nigeria at the moment,’ said Ashvin Dayal, senior vice-president of power at Rockefeller Foundation, which backed the mini-grid project….
Wealthier households, fed up with the country’s regular blackouts, have been the first to rush to install solar panels. “Practically anyone who can afford it has solar panels on their roofs right now in Nigeria,” said Muhammad Wakil at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), the green alliance formed by Rockefeller, the Ikea Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund, which is involved in the rollout.A payback period for solar panels is estimated at six months based on the cost of diesel, Ember reports, although the period is shorter in Nigeria where diesel prices are high.
