Students and lecturers at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly known as University of Abuja, are set to overcome power failures as the Federal Government switched on a three-megawatt solar power station on campus on Wednesday in Abuja.
The project gives the institution clean electricity for teaching, research, science laboratories, and daily work.
To help solve the power problems in higher institutions, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, switched on the new facility. The Rural Electrification Agency worked with the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project to build the plant. The project came through Phase II of the Energising Education Programme.
Universities across the country struggle to get stable electricity. They need power for classes, internet services, student accommodation, and campus safety. Tegbe explained that universities need modern energy systems because they bring together learning, healthcare, technology, and administration.
More electricity and hostels support
The new facility brings together a 3.3-megawatt solar array, three megawatts of output capacity, and two megawatt-hours of battery storage. The battery system stores power to light up essential facilities when the sun goes down.
The project also installed 388 streetlights across the campus. These lights will make the paths brighter and keep students safer at night.
Student leaders asked the government to stretch the power lines into their hostel rooms. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, also visited the minister to request the same help.
Tegbe, who graduated from the university, promised to fix the issue. He promised that the government will double the battery storage size. This expansion will take place within six months to supply light to the hostels and every other part of the campus.
Protecting energy assets
The minister warned people against damaging government properties. He asked the university community to protect the new solar equipment from thieves.
The government has formed a special task team to fight asset theft. This team includes the EFCC, the anti-graft agency, alongside the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. Tegbe pointed out that thieves frequently destroy power towers across Nigeria.
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The government is also creating a new plan to keep renewable energy equipment working after installation. Under this plan, the Renewable Asset Management Company will handle the repairs and maintenance of green energy assets. A similar arrangement is coming for the national electricity grid.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, stated that the Energising Education Programme has already supplied clean energy to 22 federal universities and three teaching hospitals. In total, the agency has installed over 100 megawatts of clean electricity across these places.
Aliyu asked the school to use the new plant to teach students about solar power, battery storage, smart meters, and grid systems.
Professor Fawehinmi called the power plant a big investment in the university’s academic future.
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