Azuris Technologies’General Manager in charge of the West African region, Mrs Vera Nwanze has stated that the company targets to deploy its PayGo solar systems to one million rural homes in Nigeria in line with the federal government’s commitment to increase access to renewable energy.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had while inaugurating Azuri’s programme to deliver 20,000 solar power systems to rural homes across 10 states in the north, promised that most Nigerian homes and offices would soon no longer require electricity from the national grid.
The federal government’s renewable energy policy seeks to increase energy production from renewable energy sources from 13 per cent of total electricity generation in 2015, to 23 per cent in 2025 and 36 per cent in 2030.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos at the weekend, Nwanze, who disclosed that the company entered Nigeria in 2016, added that the federal government mandated it to deploy 20,000 units of the PayGo solar systems to off-grid communities in 10 states in the north in one year.
“We are discussing to expand the programme to other states. The plan is to deploy one million of our flagship product, Quad, across Nigeria. We are in Kano at the moment and we have deployed over 1,000 units. When we deploy a unit, we register the customer and the payment is spread over a period of three years,” she explained.
According to her, the company’s flag-ship product, Azuri Quad under the PayGo solar systems has made it easy and affordable for rural off-grid communities to have access to electricity.
Nwanze stated that over 300 people subscribed to the PayGo solar system in the first three weeks of the launch in Kano, adding that over 100,000 people spread across the sub-saharan Africa are already enjoying the services of the firm.
“We have impacted over 100,000 households with our solar systems. Azuri’s vision statement is to change lives with our technology in every home. So, we don’t want to live anybody behind, no matter how remote or how rural they are located. And this is also in line with the federal government’s policy on renewable energy, which is to ensure that they increase accessibility and the renewable sources from 13 per cent in 2015 to three times the figure in the next 15 years. Azuri’s goal is to deploy the PayGo system across Nigeria and this we believe will improve the energy access of over 55 per cent of Nigerians living in the off-grid regions. It will save households the fund spent on kerosene and diesel, as well as reduce the health hazards associated with the use of kerosene and diesel. Of course, we believe it will also create a safer night-time environment because the environment will be lightened up and children can study,” Nwanze explained.
She added that the firm’s PayGo solar system has made it possible for students in rural areas of the country to study at night, while the system has also helped parents save money as well as reduce health hazards associated with kerosene explosions and others.
Also speaking, the company’s Vice President in charge of Market Development, Mr Paul Foster, disclosed that subscribers can have their battery box (Azuri Quad) changed if faulty.
The PayGo system, the 10W Azuri Quad, has a lithium battery, a solar panel (for example: GOAL ZERO NOMAD 13 ) and four individually-powered high brighteness LED lamps to illuminate the home.