AUNThisWeek

As part of the efforts to scale down the cost of AUN's energy consumption, the management invited a representative from Karlot Energy to campus.

On February 12, 2020, the Managing Director of Karlot Energy Lawrence Osakwe was at AUN where he met with university officials.

He maintained that it was high time Nigeria looked at alternative power options, a cause which his company is advocating and pushing strongly. He said their mission is to make every home in Nigeria have a functioning solar energy system while meeting its energy needs without depending on the government. The company is into sales and supply, installation and maintenance of solar panels as well as training and consultancy on solar energy solutions.

In addition to his presentation on Renewable Energy, the engineer gave a presentation on the Joule Box Power solution of ECO-GEN Energy Inc. He told the attendees that Karlot Energy Ltd is the legally assigned partners of ECO-GEN Energy in Nigeria to distribute and implement the Joule Box power station in the country.

The provision of solar-powered portacabin schools for IDP children, a project funded by UNICEF, is among the projects that his company has executed in Adamawa. While no organization has implemented the Joule box solution in Nigeria, the presenter believes that AUN stands to benefit hugely from the technology.

"One thing that got me into this is the physics behind the technology," said the presenter.

He explained further the technology, saying that the inventors of the technology built a motor based on the principle that made it possible to deliver more energy which makes the motor more efficient in energy conversion.

"In Physics, you use 746 Watts to create 1 horsepower for conventional motors. But what they did was to look for a way to use 200 Watts to produce 1 HP."

He adds that his company has done a comparative analysis of this technology with other power options such as solar and found that it is better, being more cost-effective in terms of tariff.

Attendees at the meeting which was facilitated by Director of Development, Sameer Yeshwanth, include Vice President for University Relations, Abba Tahir, and Project Assistant, Mr. Mostafa Kenawy, Deputy Director of Administration, Mohammed Sani Isa, Assistant Director Administration, Mustapha Abubakar.

Mr. Yeshwanth finds the ingenuity behind the innovation for the technology very captivating.

"How come nobody ever thought of doing this before now."

Since the two Administration buildings on campus were built, there have been cost savings on the energy consumed. This is because sustainable buildings also use solar energy.

Reported by Omorogbe Omorogiuwa