Federal Government of Nigeria has raised the alarm over solar panels installation on rooftops, saying it is unsafe and endangers life and property.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje.
Bugaje stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.
According to him, many rooftop solar panel installations across the country are being carried out without adherence to safety and engineering standards.
“The installations that are going on across the country on rooftops are very unprofessional. And they are risks to fire.
“During the peak of solar radiation, the current flowing in the wires is maximum. It’s at its highest peak.
“If the current is too high, the wires will become heated. They will heat up due to the resistance.
“As the electrons flow, they face resistance within those wires and they will heat up to the extent that some of them can even melt.
” If the two spark, it can ignite fire. Many fires have happened because of that,” he said.
The Executive Secretary also faulted the common practice of mounting solar panels at steep angles matching rooftop designs.
Bugaje noted that most roofs are sloped at 60 to 70 degrees, which significantly reduces solar collection efficiency.
He, therefore, stated that for optimum energy generation, the panels should be mounted at about 10 degrees facing South. This, he said is to match Nigeria’s geographic position, especially in places like Abuja.
Speaking on the importance of renewable energy, Bugaje said for the country to industrialize, it must target close to 500 watts per capita of its energy.
He, however, added that the technical education sector is stepping up efforts to address these gaps through structured training.
The Executive Secretary explained that the National Diploma in Renewable Energy Engineering had been reviewed. He added that two new Higher National Diploma, HND, programmes in photovoltaic, PV, and solar thermal engineering had been introduced.
Bugaje further stated that short-term certifications under the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework, NSQF, were being offered to equip installers with professional expertise.
He said, “Renewable energy is important to Nigeria because of the present energy poverty that we are facing in the country,
“A population of 230 million people enjoying 5,000 megawatts. If you divide the megawatts by the population, it is low.
“Nigeria cannot industrialize with this low energy availability. Many countries that are peers of Nigeria, like South Africa has higher watts per capital,” he said
Bugaje also expressed worries over the underutilized solar potential in the county.
He, therefore, called on State Governments to take advantage of recent constitutional changes that allow States to generate and distribute electricity independently.
source: NAN