5 UNN Students Seek N100m to Expand Solar Energy Project

Five University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) students have defied odds and embarked on 'alternative energy grid' project.

Nwangele Godwin Chukwuemeka; Okereke Kingsley; Esumeh Aaron; Udeh Isaac Nnaemeka; and Ogechukwu Uchechukwu Emmanuel, co-founders, now seek more funding to expand.

They have already completed 38 projects.
The co-founders are shopping for about N100million funding to expand the project they started with N45,000 but is now valued at several millions.

Uchechukwu Ogechukwu who spoke on behalf of the team, said, “We started with N45,000 and kept adding N5,000 each until we got things set. As I said early, it was like seven months. One day at a trade fair, Gov. Ugwuanyi Ifeanyi of Enugu State bought our product along side Mr. John Busco. That was our first return. We reinvested all and have been reinvesting.

“And we kept saving and adding, hunger was on all our faces, but we kept smiling. One thing I must add, all our friends showed us love even when our first test system blew up. They still clapped for us. To expand the product and even export, we need financing close to N100 million”.

Speaking on the power energy shortages in Nigeria, he said, “The truth is that energy is not cheap anywhere, but one peculiar thing with Nigeria is that our people waste energy that they can't even pay for.

“An example is, most poor homes use 200watts bulb everywhere while such energy consumption is equal to some fridges used by rich men.  Also, the pressure on the national grid by home deprives the industries of this energy, so we thought if homes could key into green energy and leave out the noise and air polluting generators, the industries may gain little life. Another one is that some homes use our grid light to cook instead of using gas as the white men do. You can add yours too”, he said.

He said, adding that the project started dreams of making solar energy available for people to use at home since it is already in existence in overseas.