Osinbajo lays foundation for first solar cells production in West Africa

Osinbajo

As part of its efforts to boost investment into ramping up the nation’s electricity power sector, the Federal Government has laid the foundation of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Solar Cells Production Plant in Gora, Nasarawa State.

According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who led other dignitaries to the site of the facility, the NASENI Solar Cells Production Plant will be the first of such plant in West Africa. 

Performing the ceremony at the factory cite in Gora, Nasarawa state, Osinbajo said the measure was a proactive effort aimed at placing Nigeria within the ranks of countries pushing the boundaries in the use of climate-smart alternative energy sources, particularly solar power. 

He said the development is one of the Federal Government’s steps to ensure that NASENI gets statutory 1% of the Federation Account annually, as prescribed by its founding law. 

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“This factory could not have come at a more crucial time, he stated, adding that not only is the beneficiation model it has adopted innovative and consistent with the African Union’s energy transition plan in the face of global warming, its output, at full operational capacity, will further impact the solar energy value chain in Nigeria through the low production costs of solar panels,” he said.

According to him, solar cells are critical to the entire solar energy value chain because they determine the sensitivity of solar panels to trap and accumulate solar energy from the sun. 

Continuing, Osinbajo said NASENI’s solar cell production factory in Nigeria will be a game-changer.

 In Sub-Saharan Africa, $50 billion worth of diesel fuel is used each year, with diesel generators producing more energy than the entire energy grid in 17 countries in the region. The resultant emissions of carbon monoxide has since become a major and worrying source of pollution. 

“In Nigeria, for example, generator emissions are equivalent to emissions from all of the country’s 11 million cars put together. This is clearly unsustainable and calls for a significant shift.”

Osinbajo said the major raw material requirements for the production of Solar cells – silicon and silica – are naturally occuring in abundance in this area. We are grateful to the good people of Nasarawa for hosting this important project and congratulate you in advance for the positive boost it is certain to bring to the local economy.

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