“Risk or Reward? Investing in Solar vs What Already Works”
If you had five million naira to invest in your business, should you really go for clean energy solar technology, or stick with what is already working in the market, like diesel generators, in real time? This is the kind of decision that reveals whether a business is built for today or for the future.
In real time, you would rather have what will stop taking from you. If you put that ₦5 million into getting a diesel generator, you will find one in the market with a capacity of about 12–15 KVA. It feels like a solid choice. But if you run it every day, you tend to spend about ₦15,000 daily on fuel. On a monthly basis, that is close to ₦400,000. On a yearly basis, you will spend close to ₦5 million—almost the same amount you used to buy the generator in the first place. The generator keeps working, but it keeps collecting from you.
Instead, if you spend that money on solar energy, you only have to bear the cost of cleaning the panels. The system works quietly in the background, without daily payments draining your cash flow.
The truth is, solar energy is sustainable and very reliable. Before the advent of lithium batteries, solar batteries had a lifespan of three to five years. Today, lithium batteries come with lifespans and warranties of up to ten years. Solar panels last between twenty and twenty-five years, and in a place like Nigeria, with high sun intensity, they work even better. The real question now is not whether solar works, but how to leverage renewable energy wisely.
