- IFC, Nigeria Develop Standards for Solar Products
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, are collaborating to develop standards for Pico photovoltaic products and solar home systems.
The SON and the IFC, through its solar energy intervention programme, Lighting Africa, recently convened a workshop in Lagos to discuss the framework for adopting the International Electrotechnical Commission/Lighting Global Standards.
The Director General/Chief Executive, SON, Mr Osita Aboloma, said the workshop was aimed at driving the needed ideas for the deployment of quality Pico PV systems capable of ensuring clean, safe, low cost, durable and efficient off-grid energy of less than or equal to 350 watts and 35 volts peak DC regardless of locations.
Aboloma, who was represented by the Head Electrical Laboratory, SON, Mr Achema Alewu, said, “We are all familiar with the energy situations in Nigeria; a new world order is clean, reliable and efficient energy. Only alternative sources of power can deliver on this and with its added environmental sustainability because of the much talked about global warming.
“They can be harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants to the environment and so, have a limited ability to deplete the ozone layer.”
According to him, the Pico PV system is one of the many renewable energy options for Nigeria to solve its energy issues both in the rural and urban settlements.
The Programme Lead, Lighting Africa, Nigeria, Mr Allwell Nwankwo, expressed his gratitude to the SON for its collaboration since 2015 towards quality assurance in the solar industry by providing the needed expertise and support to the IFC in an effort to avoid market spoilage.
He said, “The IFC-World Bank project is to help the country grow in the area of market penetration for solar consumables through market support and development activities and in promoting quality assurance in the lighting of Africa and the development of a set of standards to give confidence and value for money as the issue of quality assurance is even more critical now as the market is growing, and there’s a need to check the influx of solar items.”
