For many, one of the major hindrances to the penetration of information technology and telecommunication devices in underserved and un-served areas is the absence or the inadequacy of electricity to power technological devices. Even for big operators in the sector, inadequacy of electricity has constituted a major obstacle and the cost of overcoming this could be enormous.For the National Information Technology Development Agency which has been rolling out Rural Information Technology Centres to enable rural dwellers to connect to the information superhighway, overcoming the power challenge has become a major issue. The common solution for many ICT operators is to buy generators. However, the depreciation of the generating sets as well as the enormous cost of fueling them makes the generator option very expensive. This is why NITDA has taken advantage of a sister organisation, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, which has established a solar panel manufacturing plant in Abuja. NASENI has been given the mandate to manufacture solar panels to power 40 rural Internet centres which NITDA has established across the country. Through photovoltaic effect, solar cells made largely of semiconductor materials are able to make a direct conversion of sunlight to electricity. The Director-General of NASENI, Prof. Olusegun Adewoye, said PV technology had virtually unlimited potential to provide a safe energy supply that was clean and environmentally friendly in contrast to most conventional energy production technologies. He said, "PV technology is particularly well suited for use in Nigeria since most part of the country lies within the tropical region blessed with abundant sunshine all year round and also because of the isolated pattern of human settlement. "The establishment of a PV plant in Nigeria is envisaged to accelerate the development, application, adaptation and diffusion of PV technology in the country." The challenge of industrialisation coupled with global environmental concerns and the need to develop the rural areas and create jobs in the country provides a suitable and fertile atmosphere for the development of a viable venture in the production and sales of PV based solar panels, the NASENI boss added. Adewoye explained that the involvement of his agency in the production of solar panel was borne out of the conviction that lack of modern energy services was a major obstacle to getting out of the poverty and underdevelopment conundrum. He said, "NASENIs intervention in the energy sector involves the establishment of a solar panel plant, design and production of small hydro power turbines, pole mounted transformers, and wind turbine blades. "The agency has successfully established a 7.5MW solar panel manufacturing plant in Karshi, Abuja with a production line to facilitate a smooth rollout of solar panels. "The Karshi solar plant is stocked with over 1,000 solar panels of large stock of raw materials to roll out more solar panels of various specifications. The plant is supported by a quality control room equipped with sun simulator to determine the specific ratings of all the panels produced." Despite the potential of producing solar panels and possibly cells in the country to make up for shortage of energy required in the ICT sector, experts believe that there is a limit to what this source of energy can do for the country. One of the major limitations is in the quantity of the sunlight that can be converted to electricity using the photovoltaic effect as well as the initial investment required to acquire solar panels for meaningful production in the ICTs.According to Callfinder.com, the best solar panels at the moment can convert only about 20 per cent of the solar energy they receive into usable electricity. It said, "A high number of panels are needed to satisfy even a single homes energy needs. For that reason, solar power systems are still prohibitively expensive and require large amounts of surface area to create a relatively small amount of energy. "Another limitation for solar power is intermittency. Solar power is extremely predictable, making it an easy resource to work with, but it is available only during the day under sunny skies. Although a definite limitation, this problem too is solvable with technology. The key is energy storage."Plenty of sunlight strikes the earths surface on any given day, enough to power the entire world for years. Solar powers limitations lie in our ability to capture, convert and store solar energy." It is therefore certain that solar can be useful only in small ICT operations where power requirement are not enormous. Thus, this source of energy can only help small operators in the ICT chain. Incidentally, experts say it is small operators that will find it difficult to make the initial investments required to purchase the quantity of panels that can enable them to carry on their operations.Perhaps, that is why through NITDA, the Federal Government is purchasing the panels required in rural Internet operations. However, experts say that there can hardly be a viable option to a functional and efficient national grid system that feeds creative ventures, small and big, in the sector.
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