tbaba1234: I wrote that,,, I did not copy it from anywhere...


The growth of Solar industry in the west is because of government incentives. In the US, there is production investment tax credit and most utilities are compelled to produce PV with the renewable portfolio standards...

Take away the incentives and the industry would collapse...

Grid parity in the West is pretty close. And you are wrong, far from potentially collapsing, its set to grow from strength to strength. See the recent IPO of Solarcity for evidence of that, and it's subsequent stock market performance.

Those subsidies were put in place because the cost of Solar Energy was so very high when they first started offering them. There was no way anybody would have been able to afford to buy at full prices 5 years ago, were it not for the subsidies.

The picture is now greatly changed - subsidies are no longer required in many Western States because unit costs have fallen so dramatically. Plus, the emergence of the likes of Solar City, with their innovative long term leasing model has led to an absolute explosion in demand for Solar Energy in USA. See the article I attached earlier. The market in the USA is expected to grow by 70% this year, and that's off a pretty high base already.

If nothing else, the massive uptake of Solar in the west, regardless of whether it's subsidy driven or not, is enormous testimony to the efficiency of Solar Energy. So you can imagine why I find many of the comments on here somewhat laughable (present company excepted - you clearly are an educated poster).

The economics of the power industry in Nigeria are COMPLETELY different to anywhere in the west, because the average cost of a unit is so grotesquely high due to the prevalent use of generators. So comparing the West with Nigeria is not really comparing "apples with apples"

tbaba1234: I am beginning to think you are a marketer not a technical person... Surely you must have thought that your claims would be disputed.

I welcome healthy debate. Its the very reason I started the thread. Debate aids learning and growth.

Dis Guy: OP

have you actually ever been to nigeria.... or been recently?

and

Have you installed this anywhere in Nigeria...yourself ?

Yes. My installation team have installed numerous systems in Nigeria to date. All are working like a dream. If you would like proof, I'll go as far as getting my lead installer to join Nairaland specifically to answer all questions you have.

I'm a great believer in the maxim "the proof of the pudding is in the eating". You will bear witness to the rapid expansion of Solar Energy into NIgeria. Of that you have my solemn vow.

tbaba1234: Disadvantages

i. Solar energy generally raises the price of electricity when it is on the grid...

ii. It is not yet competitive in most markets, it is improving but it is not there yet....

iii. Areas with plenty sun and little heat are best for it.... Nigeria's heat intensity does not exactly favour it. Heat degrades the system faster.

iv. Inefficient and intermittent

v. Expensive

vi. Can only be used where there is little obstruction to sunlight.

vii. It is difficult to make returns on investment without government incentives

Advantages:

i. It is clean energy

ii. Very small maintenance cost

iii. create jobs...

iv. You can possibly make a return on investment

Funny. Next time you copy and paste an article from the web, you would do well to take a note of the date. Solar Energy is one of the fastest moving industries in the world. Information from just a few years ago is now obsolete.

Case in point - the cost of solar energy has fallen by 75% in the last 4 years. Feel free to verify that fact.

manny4life:

Honestly, I've been waiting on his calculation. Even you who used 24/365 days a years of constant charging was just too generous, meanwhile he claims 7hrs (1/3rd less of yours), with his admittance of 17% capacity factor. I've been waiting on his, and still waiting to put forward his calculation because I want to see his as well.

Sorry, i'm not following your point. Please explain what it is you are asking me, and I'll do my best to oblige.

Thanks

princejude:

Solar panel (with its charge controller) is just a battery charger. You cannot use it alone without a battery. And battery is always GIGO(Garbage-In-Garbage-Out) in other word,you can never take more than what you put inside the battery.

Please get your facts correct. Grid tie systems NO NOT require batteries, and the grid electricity acts as back up.

Off grid systems operate exclusively "off the grid" and require a full battery array to store energy to be used during non daylight hours

Hybrid systems utilise both grid electricity when available, and battery support when not. This is Solar energy 101.

tbaba1234: Your calculation is inaccurate.

That is what I showed. It is too simplistic.

We can go back and forth about calculations and numbers all day long. It does not change certain basic facts.

1. Grid electricity can only provide 8% of Nigeria's total energy needs today (5,000MW production versus 60,000MW demand)
2. Not in either of our lifetimes will it be able to even remotely bridge that gap - please bear in mind that 50% of the populace are not even on the grid at all, the demand levels does not even account for them.
3. The population is estimated to more than double by 2050 - energy demands are going to double along with it.
4. Nigerians will only be able to get 24 hours of electricity in their lifetimes by producing their own, as they do now
5. The choices are Generators, which CURRENTLY costs N70 per kWh - upon removal of the remaining subsidy this year, this automatically jumps by 50% to N105 per kWh. OR
6. Solar Energy, which costs 15.5 per kWh (you dispute my calculations - lets at this stage even assume that its really double this number [it's certainly not, and there is no more than a 10-15% degree of error built in], that's still a third of the cost of diesel, with the multitude of environmental benefits.

What are we really arguing about here? Its the biggest no-brainer in the world.

There is a reason everyone in the west is rapidly adopting solar - it's because even here, where we actually receive 24 hours of electricity, grid parity is near, and is certain to go below grid parity in the next year or two. This is despite the fact that solar here is way more expensive than it would be in Nigeria (over 50% of the cost of a Solar Power system is made up of soft costs such as marketing and salaries - these are a tenth of the price in Nigeria).

Think about it.

tbaba1234:

In a competitive market, no utility would invest in photvoltaic energy. That is why governments across the world have incentives for it to bring down the price.

A supplier would only sell at a profit.

The cost/kwh is definitely higher than what the
Op presented.

I AM the supplier. My calculations are based on the prices we will be selling for when we launch at the end of this month. That's why I speak so definitively.

I will attach for you a more detailed explanation of exactly why we are able to sell for these prices - as i've fully explained on another thread.


@ yesman

I now have the time to address your well constructed post on a point by point basis. For everyone following this thread, please try to pay complete attention, as the explanations may get somewhat complex. I'll do my level best to simplify.

First the easy part - you have identified 3 ways in which a business can be successful, and these are of course correct at a top level. However, your conclusion that this therefore is a limitation to my business could not be more wrong. Let's look at each of your 3 points in turn:

1. Increase the size of transaction (Price): Your application of this statement is not strictly true. You have identified price as being the key variable - it is not. The key variable is MARGIN. That is, how much profit do you make per transaction, or in the case of the energy business, how much profit do you make per kW sold. You make reference to the fact that my product being the cheapest in the world is a negative, which somehow endangers the long term prospects of the business. You also make the point that goods are priced higher in Nigeria due to the harsh business environment. You are INCORRECT on both counts. (goods are priced highly in Nigeria because the cost of energy adds 40% to the price of all goods - many large manufacturers have closed shop and moved to Ghana as a result).

First, my product is the cheapest in the world (and significantly so) primarily because of ruthless efficiencies in our cost base. Our strong financial backing allows us to benefit hugely from enormous economies of scale. Secondly, and most importantly, the premium added to the cost of the product to cover sales and marketing is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than you can find in any developed country in the world. Why? Because sales and marketing costs in Nigeria are markedly lower than in any developed country, so I'm able to pass these cost savings on to the customer, without any damage at all to my margins. So, I will make just as much profit per kW sold as any US or Australian company because our SOFT costs (non hardware related) are so much lower. Add to that the cost of installation, which, given western labour costs compared to Nigerian Labour costs, are considerably lower. Each installation takes 1 day and requires a 4 man team. Labour costs in say, the UK are approximately £2,000 for the 4 man team (N480,000). In Nigeria, it costs a tenth of that. So that's an immediate and huge saving that I'm able to pass on to my customers in full, reducing the price we charge accordingly. In the UK, these costs are simply added to the cost of the unit, as I'm sure you can appreciate. Then factor in the cost of various permits and local council permits etc required in western countries, especially USA, and you begin to get the picture of just why Full installations cost so much more in developed countries, and why I'm able to offer a price far less than my counterparts. And bear in mind, my profit per kW sold is identical to any western installer. So in short, I'm able to offer the lowest prices in the world AND maintain a healthy margin because of a much lower 'soft' cost base. A quick fact for you (you must realise by now I love numbers), 50 -55% of the cost of Western Solar installations is made up of soft costs, and nothing to do with the cost of the actual product.

2. Getting more customers: you have given no consideration to the sheer size of the market in Nigeria, widely known to be the largest in the world. So let me spell it out for you. Our customers are made up of businesses and households. The business market is larger than the household market. There are about 10 million premises based businesses in Nigeria today, the vast majority of whom use diesel generator extensively. At very conservative estimates, there is 30,000mW of electricity capacity to be sold into these businesses. In financial terms, that's a market size of $135 billion dollars (N21.6 trillion).

Now for the household market. Current electricity deficit to be sold into is 25,000mW, which equates to $112 billion (N18 trillion). This does not account for the 60% of the nigerian populace who have no access to electricity (more on that later). Now bear in mind that the population continues to grow at a rapid rate, meaning the demand for electricity will grow into perpetuity. I hope you can see that the market size is so unbelievably large that we can quite comfortably make $10 billion in profits, and not have even scratched the surface.

3. Getting more purchases from our Customers: You have reached the natural and logical conclusion that my business plan has zero recurring income built in, because we are selling units up front, with no room for recurring income. You are actually very wrong on this front. What I have not told you is that a considerable amount of our profits will come from recurring income, where we effectively take the place of a Utility company, and provide the equipment free of charge to very large businesses in exchange for a 25 year electricity purchase contract. This is a win win for all parties concerned, as the company benefits from an immediate 80% reduction in their energy bills, we get an immediate sale of huge value, and are locked into a recurring revenue stream for the next 25 years. I'll say no more on that front at this time - lets just say that I have close on $500 million of UK investment funds just aching to dive in (I come from a London Banking background and have many contacts).

I certainly wouldn't worry about our ability to sustain ourselves financially. I assure that won't be an issue.

Now for the rest of your post. Firstly, please read my earlier post which deals with the deregulation of the market and the huge opportunity that brings. The key points to take from that post is that Nigeria is not even remotely close to being able to provide 24 hours electricity. At current capacity increase rates versus the rate of population growth, the power situation will be worse in 30 years time than it currently is.

For your point about the rich wanting to keep the status quo, well, that's simply a ridiculous statement. The cast iron laws of economics are clear for all to see. No rational human being will happily pay N6m a year for diesel, when for a one off payment of N6m, they can provide their entire electricity needs for at least the next 25 years. Just a ridiculous statement. That would basically mean they are quite happy to spend N144 million over the next 24 years (at today diesel prices) when they don't have to. Not even Bill Gates would do that. I'm sure you realise that's simply not a credible suggestion. And lets not even talk about the noise, pollution, safety hazard etc.

Now for panel security. I'm not sure whether you realise that the panels are secured to the ROOF of your house. That's right, they are literally nailed down to your roof. I'm not too sure how a thief would go about helping himself to the panels from there. And how will they get to the rest of the equipment - inverters etc. No, this is simply not credible.

Your point about the tapering off of sales should have been answered by referring to my analysis of the market size. No tapering will take place during my lifetime, and I'm 35.

You are right that an element of pessimism is required when launching a new venture. This reveals itself in research and planning of the most meticulous nature. I'd like to assure you that as well as running my highly successful online recruitment business in the US and UK, I have dedicated the last year of my life to planning my entry into this market. Not a stone has been left unturned in approaching launch. My background is one of high finance, where planning and execution are the watchwords. These have been my guiding principles in reaching this stage in the launch. I hope to demonstrate in the coming weeks, months and years, that my vision is indeed one that will reach fruition.

I'd like to make a brief point about the Sales Agents we are currently recruiting. To my mind, this is by far the most important element of the execution strategy. As you will know, DISTRIBUTION is a critical element in the mass penetration of any product into a new market. In working out the best distribution strategy to adopt, I was reminded of the example given by a former Business Professor renowned in the USA for teaching "The Business of the Drugs Trade" at one of the most prominent US university institutions. He makes the very good point that the illicit drugs trade is a multi billion dollar a year trade without any traditional distribution channels as used by normal multinational businesses. What these organisations have been able to do is effectively use the most powerful distribution channel known to man - people power. They literally have tens of thousands of unfortunate young men pushing their poison for them on the streets. Why? Because these guys dont have any other work and resort to drug dealing to make their living (anyone who's ever visited Baltimore, Crenshaw and parts of Atlanta as I have can attest to the terrible impact this has had on life there).

I looked at this example and thought to myself, "why not recreate that distribution model, except it's being applied to a totally legal and necessary product". And create MASSIVE incentives for our distributors, by paying extremely generous commissions, such that one sale a month is all that's required to earn the monthly wage of the average worker. Remember, we have 40 million unemployed graduates in the country, a tragic waste of fantastic talent. But more importantly, we'd be able to create lots and lots of Naira millionaires because the commissions are so generous. This would be a very proud accomplishment.

We take this further, and open the door to practically anyone to participate in our Referral program (they get commissions lower than our Official Sales Agents for obvious reasons, but still a tidy sum of money).

I'll leave you with an example. We have just received a pre order from a company that requires a 50kW system. The lead was provided by a referrer, who had been following this message thread (and despite our website not going live until tomorrow (fingers crossed - if you've ever worked with web developers, you know that today usually means in 2 days time, but hey, so it goes). He will shortly be picking up a commission payment of N12,500 per kW, totalling N625,000, by way of thank you from us. I'm sure he's suitably pleased. I certainly am, and so too is the customer. The only person not pleased is the diesel vendor. Sales agents receive N20,000 per kW sold.

I'll ask yourselves this question - do I want to get into the biggest renewable energy market, potential wise, in the world, or do I want to wait until your local area is saturated with Agents competing for every business and residential sale.

Apologies for the long post, but I felt it necessary to provide a full and frank response. Yesman deserved it for taking the time to post such a well crafted message, full of genuine questions designed to provoke thought. My sincere thanks to you.

Finally, a brief word on the pricing of electricity, and just why the world has finally woken up to the necessity of renewable energy in general, and Solar Energy in particular. The price of electricity is set to rise quite dramatically over the next 25 years as China, India, and Africa continue to industrialise at a rapid pace. The impact of this is already being felt heavily in the UK, where electricity prices have increased by 250% in 8 years, due to the ever escalating price of gas. All of the British Nigerians on this forum will be able to attest to the fact that energy prices have been increased by an average of 24% for each of the last 3 years - it's an utter scandal. Nigerians have "enjoyed" subsidised prices for many years. These are now being removed by the government, so as to encourage private investment in the sector. In other words, to allow them to freely charge higher prices and make a profit. As if your lives were not difficult enough.

The "official" price of a kWh of electricity in Nigeria today is N19, or $0.12 a unit. I can assure you that within the next 5 year, this will have at least doubled, through the complete removal of the remaining subsidy, and price hikes by PHCN. So expect a price of c. N40 a kWh soon. In comparison, at the prices we will charge for our products, the cost per kWh is $0.09 (N14). And that price is fixed for the next 25 years. So it's massively cheaper than grid electricity in Nigeria, never mind the crazy diesel generators.

I hope this post gives some more food for thought. Power is a very important issue for Nigeria's future, and it's up to us to solve the problem and unlock the enormous potential that lies within our population.

Regards

Uvie

NLG_woodey:

Solar power came with all that hype in USA but the consumers let it die a natural death. It is not cost
-effective per installation and maintenance costs. It is generally cumbersome.

To expend N800,000 for procurement of 1KVA of electricity? Thanks but no thanks!

Solar energy is a hard sale. The sales pitch is always enticing but comes short in implementation.

You simply don't have a clue what you are talking about. I could literally provide you with 50 websites that spell out the fallacy of your statement. It's really not worth the trouble.

Information is free - Google is your friend. Look him up. Don't pretend to be an expert when you know nothing. Solar energy adoption in the US is growing at a rapid pace in the USA. I should know, seeing as I spend 6 months a year there.

Here are just a few websites for people to read to CATEGORICALLY prove you wrong.

http://gigaom.com/2012/12/25/5-charts-that-show-the-amazing-growth-in-solar-in-2012-charts/

I readily await your response.

tbaba1234: Also the fact that the sun shines for 9 hours does not mean that the panel would produce at full capacity during that period.

The tilt of the panel matters as well. Does your panel move with the sun??

What i am trying to point out is that, there is no way a solar panel can be cheaper than PHCN grid...

Photovoltaic energy is not economically dispatchable for a reason

This is simply untrue. You are conveniently ignoring the following critical facts.

1. The price of energy has been significantly subsidised in Nigeria for decades. That subsidy is now being removed. The market has been liberalised. This means only 1 thing - the cost of energy from the grid is GUARANTEED to escalate over the coming years.

2. The cost of grid electricity is directly dependent on the cost of the raw material input - be it gas, coal, wind, solar etc. PHCN input comes directly from non renewable fossil fuel sources, subject to a guaranteed upward spiral in price as demand grows ever greater from developing economies with enormous populations. It is PRECISELY for this reason why the West is actively encouraging adoption of renewable energy, as for example, people here in the UK are beginning to suffer from fuel poverty.

Expect the price of PHCN electricity to top 50 naira per kWh within the next 5 to 7 years. This is a script that i've read ( and lived before). You don't need me to tell you that the raw material input of solar energy is the sun, which is, and will always remain free (unless of course someone works out a way to charge us for sunlight).

tbaba1234: ^ 90% LOL


There is NO solar panel in the world that would give you a 90% efficiency ... capacity factor is done for the whole year.

A great solar panel would give you between 15-20%.....

If there is anything inaccurate about the calculation, it is probably the interest rate assumed...

You are TOTALLY misunderstanding what's being said here.

1. The average efficiency of the panels we use are 17% - the very highest available in the world today. What does that mean? It simply means that each panel converts 17% of the total energy it receives from the sun into electricity. A 250w panel produces 250 watts of electricity. It's approximately 1650 * 990 mm in size. 8 such panels produce 2kW of electricity. If the efficiency of the panels were 34% for example, all that means is that the panels would only need to be half the size to produce the exact same amount of electricity (think of the development in computer chip technology - your smartphone has the same processing power as a computer that would have filled a room in 1975).

2. The efficiency we refer to is the amount of energy the panels will be producing after 10, years, 25 years etc. Our panels come with a performance guarantee of 90% performance after 10 years, and 80% after 25 years. Put another way, a 2kW system that produces, for round numbers sake, 10kWhs of electricity each day, will only produce 9kWs' a day after 10 years, and 8kW's a day after 25 years.

We compensate for this by simply providing you with an additional panel after 10 years, to make up for the natural reduction in energy production, such that you will still be producing 10kWh's of electricity from the system after 25 years.

I hope that clears up your misunderstanding.

gunuvi:
Someone should answer this and provide estimated cost in Nigeria.

This will require a rather large system as i'm sure you realise. I will work out those numbers and revert. Please be advised that we have created an innovative energy calculator on our website, which allows you to accurately work out the size of system you require.

See the thread below for details, as i can't post the details on here or will get banned.

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

tbaba1234: Even assuming a maintenance cost of zero, I end up N43.2/kwh.

Your 57,000 kwh for 25 year is bogus because you did not factor in the capacity factor, There is no way, a 1kw system would produce 57,000 kwh in 25 years... Capacity factor = The ratio of actual energy produced / energy produced if panel worked all the time......

I used a more realistic annual net energy, the calculations are clear.

I still think the 5% interest rate can not be correct in the Nigerian climate.... If the actual value is inputed, it would be more....

Please find the calculation below

Your calculations are incorrect.

1. Average peak sunlight hours in nigeria ranges from 4-5 in the south, to 9 in the north. I have taken an average of 6.25 in my calculations. These figures are a matter of FACT.

The amount of energy produced by a solar array is simply the kW * peak sunlight hours. Full stop. So, 6.25 kWh's per day is equivalent to the stated number provided. And in case you are wondering why I have not factored in the average efficiency of 90% over the 25 year period, that's because we will guarantee that your system will still be operating at 100% capacity after 25 years. HOW. Easy. We will provide you will an extra 200w solar panel completely free over after 10 years.

Regarding financing, if you understood the way i've negotiated my finance sourcing, you'd know why that is an accurate figure. The finance is being provided by my company directly, with money sourced from UK banking institutions, where the central bank base rates are 0.5%, and not 15.5% as it Nigeria.

oyb:

we are not talking about inverters, we are talking about batteries

i am even inclined to be suspicious of anyone manufacturing their 'own brand of inverters'

na today? we had a vendor who supplied my company with 2.5kVA inverters - that had issues from day 1. eventually one of the man's boys confided that the inverters were really 1.5kva. they had simply labelled them 2.5

i cannot be excited, because i have seen all this before.

I'll make a deal with you, right here right now on these public boards.

1. I will give you a 5% discount on all our products you purchase from us

On your end of the deal, you must agree to come on here and give a genuine and honest testimonial about the quality of our services and products. In exchange for that, I will pay you N12,500 for each kW of system we sell as a result of the direct recommendations you have made. Let everyone on this board bear witness to this promise.

I cannot give out our company details on this thread, or i'll be banned. But please visit the thread below, where you will find full details of me and my company.

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

Energy bondage in Nigeria is about to come to an end.

oyb:

we are not talking about inverters, we are talking about batteries

i am even inclined to be suspicious of anyone manufacturing their 'own brand of inverters'

na today? we had a vendor who supplied my company with 2.5kVA inverters - that had issues from day 1. eventually one of the man's boys confided that the inverters were really 1.5kva. they had simply labelled them 2.5

i cannot be excited, because i have seen all this before.

I can't say i blame you for adopting that attitude. Business morals in Nigeria suck. I have lived in the UK for the last 25 years, and am coming over to change all that. Integrity and honesty are our watchwords.

I don't expect you to simply take me at my word - the proof is in the pudding. I love my country, and i'm intent on doing my quota to making it great. We have the intelligence and know how. And i can tell you I do not share the disgusting morals all too readily shared by many so called nigerian businesses.

The manufacturing of our own brand inverters is specifically so we can guarantee it's quality and provide a comprehensive 5 year warranty on it.

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. It is precisely for this reason that i'm so excited to be launching in my home country. It's because I know for certain that the level of professionalism, honesty and integrity we display in every facet of our business practices will be so much more superior to every other indegenous business, that we will VERY QUICKLY dominate the marketplace.

Look out for our launch towards the end of the month.

hollas2jnr:

What?! Where did u get such info - replacing inverter battery every 6-7 months? Again, there are different grades of solar panels in market - mono and polycrystalline panels; one traps UV ray better than d other. infact, there are lots u still need to know...

Thank you my brother. The amount of misinformation is truly staggering. I can guarantee everybody that we manufacture our own brand of inverters, which come with a 5 year warranty as standard. They are expected to last at least 10 years.

We only use monocrystalline panels, which are perfect for the Nigerian climate. They are also far better quality, not to mention more aesthetically pleasing.

There will always be those who seek to hold back the tide of progress. It cannot and will not happen. NIgerians have suffered long enough.

djsmoothy:
Bro this is very good if it works. Can i ask about U.K homes because me and you are here we can sign agreement then i can come on NL and tell everyone it worked, in Nigeria i can't take you court so if it does not work i can come to your company and make trouble get police involve and get my money back because i have spoken to over 10 companies and they are telling me i need 4kw system. Am sorry not trying to divert the conversation just curious holla at me 07886666126 asap

I can certainly supply you with a 4kW system here in London. And yes, you will probably need a 4kW system over here, because we get less than half the Peak Hours Sunlight that Nigeria does. However, you won't need the battery array which will significantly reduce costs.

I'll give you a call later this evening, as I'm crazy busy right now preparing for our launch.

My number is 07873 287846

princejude:

From your post above,Solar Power looks cheaper but I will like you to note the following points:

1. Solar Power system is made up of: the solar panels/cells (convert the solar energy to electrical energy(DC voltage/current)),solar charge controller (Regulates the converted DC voltage used to charge batteries), DC batteries (used to power up a UPS/Inverter), UPS/Inverter (converts the DC voltage from batteries to 230V AC voltage which you can use to power up your house)

2. Solar power is NOT normally used as a stand-alone power supply. It is used to support an existing power supply such as mains/PHCN or generator. The reason is that the power from solar system depends on the battery current and it will be difficult to fully charge the batteries from the solar panels (unless you have enough millions of naira to waste on panels). For your batteries to last longer, you will need to charge the batteries through Mains(PHCN) or generator.


thats my 2cent

Correction - Solar power is used both as grid tied, hybrid, and Stand alone systems. The batteries are easily charged by the Solar Panels, as long as its properly sized. Everything is accounted for, believe that.

tbaba1234:

Bros eh!!

This can not be correct....

We are talking about a 25 year life span, what discount rate was factored in... What about the capcity factor? THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN END UP WITH THAT., OGA

Your calculation is wrong, you need to factor in everything...

Discount rate of 5% applied. That is the number. Numbers don't lie.

tbaba1234:

Please can you state your assumptions on reaching the value for solar energy... I do not think it is feasible.

I have already answered that on this thread. If you look through from the start, you will get your answer.

I'm an expert in this field and know EXACTLY what i'm talking about.

You can now follow us on Twitter and Facebook on the following links:

@solyntanigeria

Facebook.com/solyntaEnergy

Website goes live later today. Details to follow

Regards

Uvie

Aylawani:


...insightful, but how do we source for a good solar panel systems in Lagos, Nigeria?

We are launching into Nigeria at the end of this month. Website will be fully live today. I can't say more on this thread or risk being banned. See thread below for more details

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

AjanleKoko:

2KVA won't even be enough to power a 3.5KVA inverter. Not to talk of all those appliances you listed.
I use four deep cycle 200A batteries, and I replace them all once in 18 months. Average cost is about N55k.

OP is just trying to sell stuff to us here

With the greatest of respect, you simply don't know what you are talking about. Let me be clear so EVERYBODY understands perfectly well.

1. The average Nigerian home ( 3 bedrooms, 4 persons) requires a 2kW System to provide ALL of their energy needs on a 24 hour basis. Forever. This system would produce an average of 10kWs of energy each day - the average family would only require 8kWs each day.

2. An Inverter size of 3.5-4 KVA would be required.

3. All installation would be provided

The total cost of this system is........N1.4m. Take this as a concrete fact. I'm the founder and CEO of the company, and I'm giving you a copper bottomed guarantee that this is what it costs.

As a way to appease sceptical Nigerians, we offer a full money back guarantee to anybody who is not completely satisfied with their system. This is a cast iron guarantee. I cannot say any more about us commercially on this thread, or it will be banned. Please read the other thread I have running here - you will find out more there.

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

Sibrah: I was just curious Mr. OP, How did u get ur solar panel rate of ~ 15/Kw?
Please break it down for all to see.

A 1kW PV solar power system (including installation) sells for N800,000, and produces 57,000 kWh of electricity over 25 years. The total cost of that system, including replacement costs of Inverters every 10 years, and batteries every 5 years, is N883,776. So, simply divide the cost by the number of kWh produced, and you get a cost per kWh of 15.5.

For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the following:

PV Panels
Inverters
Deep Cycle Batteries
Solar Chargers
Wiring
Installation
10 Free Energy Efficient Lights
2 Years free maintenance

tbaba1234:

In the US, the levelised cost of energy for solar energy is about $244.61/MWh at 7.5% interest rate... That is the price required to break even.

Has there been any study on Nigeria's photovoltaic potential??

Yes there have. Plenty. Just do a simple google search. This information is in the public domain. Nigeria is probably the most suited country in the world for Solar Energy. Do the research.

The economics of Solar Energy in Nigeria are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to any western country. They don't pay 70 naira per kWh of electricity, like Nigerians do. They pay less less than 10 naira.

tbaba1234:

I know you might be trying to sell your company but this is frankly not true, A solr panel in Nigeria would be less effective than a solar panel in a more temperate region.

The heat actually works against the effectiveness of solar panels...

Solar energy is not the solution to Nigeria's energy problem... We still can not harness enough of it. It is intermittent, output changes all the time depending on the season and time of the day.

Storage systems are improving but are still inadequate.

Just pure rubbish. I'm an expert in the field. You are not, clearly. Australia has a hotter climate than Nigeria, believe me, I know that. Over 10% of all their households now use Solar. FACT.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/solar-panel-takeup-warms-to-a-million-20121010-27d7b.html

Please stop spreading false information.

Localamos: How would one access the financing option?

Completely sorted. My company will offer the finance directly. All you require is a 20% deposit, with the balance paid over a maximum of 24 months. We are backed financially by Barclays Bank, via Ecobank.

djsmoothy:
@OP, This man has given us the down-side of solar panel i was about to buy it for my house in uk 4.0kw will cost me 8k pounds that's 16 panels on my roof this will only generate 3500kw in a yr for my 2 bedroom house, last yr with British gas i used over 6000kw that means solar will not be a good idea for my house apart from the feed-in tariff and also if you read the small print it tells you they can't guarantee it will generate the full power. So solar panel will not power the above and if it will then you will spend over N5m to build it crazy

You are so completely wrong its untrue. There really is not enough space to explain to you why. I have started another thread which is now quite big on the subject. I cannot tell you the commercial details on this thread or it will probably be banned.

But I'd ask you to view that thread here. All of your points will be answered and then some.

A quick heads up for you. The amount of energy thats produced by a Solar Power system is DIRECTLY related to the amount of peak sunlight hours received. Nigeria receives approximately 3 times the amount that the UK does (as I type, I'm staring out of the grey skies in my London office). So the same number of times you have on your roof over in Nigeria would generate 10,500 kWh's of electricity each year. FACT. The average Nigerian household, on a 24 hour basis would require 2,900 kWh's of electricity a year (they currently use significantly less than this as you would know that the average homes receives nothing close to 24 hours of electricity)

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

Biggyd2:

I am not sure I understand the meaning of the quoted. However, people have already contributed on why the solar option cannot be readily embraced. Nigerians are not dumb. Who no like better thing? They will do anything in their power to get electricity if possible. You seem to be based abroad. If you have ideas that will better our lot, why don't you bring it home. Even though our leaders want to ruin this country, majority of its citizens want things to be better. Nice thread though.

My friend, please be assured that this is EXACTLY what I'm doing. We will shortly be launching a Solar Installation Company in Nigeria, and our stated aim is to finally eliminate the power problems we have suffered for years. As a diasporan, I see it as my duty to add my quota to the mother land.

I have secured enormous financial backing from both Nigerian and UK banks, and will certainly make a huge difference to the country. Nigeria is probably the country most suited to Solar adoption in the world, and my company is determined to make widespread adoption a reality for all NIgerians.

I cannot post direct links to our company on here, or else I'll be banned. However, I do have a massive thread going somewhere else on these boards which i can link you to. Please feel free to read and contribute. Help us to free Nigeria from Energy bondage. Its the only way the country will reach its full potential.

https://www.nairaland.com/1234695/easiest-way-get-rich/3

AjanleKoko: @OP,
There are startup and R& costs associated with providing effective solar solutions that would scale across power requirements in Nigeria. Obviously nobody is interested in incurring those costs, and they obviously can't be passed on to the customer. That's the reason for the low adoption here. If not, even the PHCN would have invested in solar farms, and would not be relying solely on NNPC's gas for generation.

No there isn't. You are totally misinformed. The cost for a typical family to instantly become completely energy independent is N1.4m. That's it. No Research and Development is necessary. This is basic technology that is extensively used across the world. Why on earth do Nigerians think they are somehow unique? Every Western country is pushing Solar adoption as the answer to the energy crises being experienced, and these are countries that receive less than half the solar radiation Nigeria gets. Put another way, its more than twice as expensive in these countries to go solar.

And yet, Nigerians still come out with these factually incorrect statements. We are obviously waiting for the white man to go over and teach us about it, then we'll all say, Oh yes, you are right. Here are some facts for you - please feel free to research them:

1. Over 10% of all Australian households (850,000) now use solar to power their homes
2. Germany (a country with hardly any sunshine) now produces 22GW (or 22,000MW) of energy through solar. To give that some perspective, the entire Nigerian national grid produces 5GW (or 5,000MW).

Please reappraise your facts.

feasy1: Fejiron, why don't you open a new thread for your advert? If I indeed need the services you advertised, I won't consider working with you as spamming other people's thread reveals you are unprofessional. Don't you think so?

Very well said. Many thanks

Tolexander: Don't worry. Until they drove you to the point where the cost of powering a generator will be cost justifying to using a PHCN light.

Absolutely right. Make no mistake, that day is coming very soon. As a UK based Nigerian, I can attest to the effect of privatisation of the national grid. Get ready for the doubling of grid electricity prices every 5 to 7 years. It won't be too long before PHCN is charging you 70 naira per kWh, now that Jonathan has given the green light for privatisation.

Solar energy prices are fixed. Let me assure you, if this situation was the same in the UK, EVERY SINGLE household would have gone solar by now.

I'm frequently left utterly perplexed by the workings of the typical Nigerian mind.