By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has launched an additional round of standards developed for solar panels, batteries, inverters, meters and charge controllers, within the framework of the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), a technical assistance programme co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Government.
The programme is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power (FMP).
The new solar component standards will support the Nigerian Government’s objective to accelerate access to energy, by creating a regulated Solar PV market in the country. Setting up and adhering to standards ensures that the potential opportunity within the Nigerian market for renewable energy technology deployments is unlocked.
Speaking at the launch of the event on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director General of SON, Mr. Farouk SALIM, said making use of quality components guarantees the lifespan of technologies and makes projects more bankable and sustainable to attract the level of investment required to grow the market.
“It also builds confidence of end users as importers, manufacturers, retailers and project developers begin to use standardised products and components,” he said.
The Acting Head of Section of Economic Cooperation and Energy at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Inga STEFANOWICZ stressed the importance of the new standards for the Nigerian Solar PV market.
“We are happy to have supported the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in developing the new standards for solar components. These standards will help to create a more regulated and standardised Solar PV market in Nigeria,” she said.
The Head of Programme of NESP, Mr. Duke BENJAMIN, noted that “the standards would assure quality and optimum performance of the solar components, and thereby encouraging more investments into the Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) sector of Nigeria.
“Our ongoing support to the SON and other key stakeholders will aim towards fostering an enabling environment for RE and EE investments,” he stated.
The launch event provided an overview of the adopted standards, the role of standardisation in ensuring minimum standards for technology suppliers, training centres, and renewable energy projects in education, healthcare, residential, commercial and industrial applications.
