CNN
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Though Nigeria has massive vitality reserves, greater than 92 million folks within the nation reside with out entry to electrical energy, in accordance with the Worldwide Power Company. These related to the ability grid should take care of frequent blackouts, which price the nation 28 billion {dollars} a 12 months – virtually 2% of its GDP.
Because of this, many Nigerians depend on petrol and diesel to energy the turbines that energy their properties and companies.
However turbines are noisy, costly and pollute the air. Gas shortages have been a key difficulty in Nigeria’s current presidential election and have made it more and more troublesome for turbines to function.
Businesswoman Olugbenga Olubanjo gives another. His firm Reeddi rents out small, light-weight solar-powered batteries referred to as “Reeddi pods” that may energy gadgets like TVs, laptops and fridges.
Reeddi was one of many finalists for Prince William’s Earthshot Award, which acknowledges bold efforts to resolve environmental issues. In a podcast, the Prince of Wales mentioned “the capsule could have a big impact on communities the place vitality poverty is a giant downside”.
Olubanjo grew up in Nigeria and says that in his time finding out engineering on the College of Ibadan, he typically needed to work on his assignments whereas coping with energy cuts. As a postgraduate, he studied on the College of Toronto, in Canada. “For the primary time in my life, I had entry to electrical energy and noticed my very own productiveness quadruple,” Olubanjo mentioned.
Usually, when calling household and buddies again residence, their energy would exit, highlighting the vitality imbalance. “As a result of I had a deep understanding of the group, I felt compelled to do one thing,” he mentioned.
Reeddi pods will be bought together with a photo voltaic panel for 199,000 Nigerian naira (about $430) or rented from “mother and pop outlets” for twenty-four hours for about 50 cents, charging with photo voltaic panels operated by Reeddi. Olubanjo says a battery can energy a TV for about 5 hours, or a 15-watt fan for 15 hours.
That makes it significantly costlier than utilizing the ability grid, however typically cheaper than working a generator.
Joel Jewell, a dealer in Ogun State, says he makes use of the capsule most days to cost his laptop computer and cellphone. With out it, you’re pressured to depend on your generator throughout common energy outages. “Typically we do not get (even) two hours of energy provide,” he mentioned. “And Reeddi’s arrival is type of a solution to prayer.”
At present, the batteries are solely out there in Nigeria, the place Olubanjo says they’re utilized by greater than 1,600 folks, principally in Lagos and Ogun State. However throughout the continent, greater than 600 million folks they lack entry to electrical energy, in accordance with the Worldwide Power Company.
Olubanjo says organizations in international locations similar to Uganda, Ghana and South Africa have expressed curiosity within the Reeddi capsule. “We’re going to do our greatest to optimize what we now have in Nigeria earlier than we scale it to that wider a part of Africa,” he mentioned.
Reeddi shouldn’t be the one firm providing batteries as a substitute for turbines. UK-based Cellular Energy leases batteries in international locations together with Nigeria, Zambia and Ghana.
Anita Otubu, senior director of Sustainable Power for All, a UN-affiliated group working to enhance entry to vitality, says “firms like Reeddi are main contributors to lowering Nigeria’s entry deficit.”
However he provides that if Reeddi desires to broaden its enterprise, it must make battery rental cheaper “or enhance the capability of every system, to allow Nigerians to get worth for cash once they buy such methods.”
For Olubanjo, the corporate’s greatest problem is maintaining with demand, as every batch of batteries takes three to 4 months to provide. However he’s assured that Reeddi can have a wider affect.
“The intention is to make the longer term (brighter) for a lot of Nigerians and Africans,” he mentioned.
