UNDP Nigeria’s solar success story began in August 2021, when greening champions Mikah Yakubu and Sally Musa decided to take their office's greening efforts to the next level and applied for funds from the corporate Moonshot Facility - a special fund that enables the organizational transition required to meet UNDP’s Moonshot Target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030.
After a rigorous selection process, UNDP Nigeria was selected out of 40+ applications to receive Moonshot funding, therewith giving the country office's active greening efforts a boost. The awarded project aimed at reducing its dependence on on-site generators by implementing a photovoltaic (PV) system at UNDP’s sub-office in Maiduguri while providing clean and reliable energy to the office. With the brand-new 40 kWp PV system, the office will contribute to UNDP’s Moonshot Initiative by reducing its carbon footprint by 62 tonnes of CO2e/year.
Despite some challenges during the acquisition of the panels due to shipping delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the support of the Information & Technology Management (ITM) Green Energy Team, the project was in full swing as soon as the panels arrived in Maiduguri in October 2022. Two months down the road, the installation of the new PV system has been completed and the office is now (partially) powered by the sun! This transition to green energy reduces the need to use the office’s diesel-fuelled generator, previously working from 8 am to 6 pm during workdays, and consuming approximately 250 liters of diesel/day at the cost of USD 530, with a monthly consumption of around 5,000 liters. In fact, with the fully functional solar installation, UNDP Nigeria foresees an 80% reduction in diesel consumption, resulting in cost savings of approximately $8,500 every month!
This project does not only result in huge savings at every level, but it also greatly reduces local air pollution from diesel burned on-site. UNDP Nigeria is strongly committed to contribute to the greening agenda of the country office and UNDP at large.
This story is brought to you by UNDP Nigeria.