CONCEPT  NOTE  ON  
  SOLAR  PANEL  
  MANUFACTURING  IN  
  NIGERIA  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NATIONAL  AGENCY  FOR  SCIENCE  AND  ENGINEERING  INFRASTRUCTURE  
PMB  391,  GARKI.  IDU  INDUSTRIAL  AREA,  ABUJA  
www.naseni.gov.ng  
 
 
 
  
 
 

 
KARSHI  SOLAR  PANEL  PLANT  (KSPP),  ABUJA  -­‐  NIGERIA.  

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
PREFACE  
 
 
NASENI’S  Mandate  is  to  make  available  in  the  Nigerian  Market  Capital  
goods  and  services  based  on  sound  engineering  practice.  In  its  years  of  
existence,  Nine  (9)  Research  and  Development  Institutes,  one  Advanced  
Manufacturing  Technology  Programme,  which  are  the  Production  arms  
of  the  agency,  have  been  established.  Each  of  the  Institutes  is  mono-­‐
mandate.  
 
NASENI,  following  its  mandate,  has  been  intervening  in  every  sector  of  
our  national  life,  all  of  which  are  to  accomplish  the  transformation  
agenda  of  President  “Goodluck  Ebele  Jonathan”  GCFR,  the  NEEDS,  the  
MDGs  and  to  achieve  the  vision  of  20-­‐20-­‐20.  
 
This  brochure  presents  NASENI’s  intervention  in  the  nations  
development  especially  in  the  areas  of  power  generation  and  
specifically  in  solar  panel  manufacturing  technology  and  reverse  
engineering  of  machines  and  components.  
 
 
 
M.S. Haruna
Engr.  (Dr.)  M.S.  HARUNA    FIET,  FNSE  
Executive  Vice  Chairman,    
National  Agency  for  Science  and  Engineering  Infrastructure  (NASENI)  
 
 
 
 
  
 
NASENI’S  BACKGROUND  
 
The  National  Agency  for  Science  and  Engineering  Infrastructure  
(NASENI),  a  parastatal  under  the  auspices  of  Federal  Ministry  of  Science  
and  Technology  (FMST)  was  established  by  Decree  22  of  1992.  The  
Agency  has  the  mandate  of  developing  and  providing  infrastructure  to  
enable  the  practice  of  endogenous  (home  grown  &  home  initiated)  
technology.    
 

 
 
The  technology,  adopted  or  developed,  must  be  proved  to  be  workable  
by  applying  to  showcase  the  resultant  product  as  a  proof  of  concept  
behind  the  technology.  The  infrastructure  developed  or  acquired  for  the  
practice  of  such  technology  is  in  turn  used  to  develop  and  enhance  
capacity  within  the  discipline  and  also  serve  as  a  source  of  spring  up  of  
other  technology.  
 
The  Agency  has  developed  capacity  in  the  following  fields;  Electrical  and  
Electronic,  Materials  and  Metallurgy,  Mechanical,  Chemical,  
Mechatronics,  Computer,  Civil,  Control  Engineering,  Chemistry,  Physics,  
Nanotechnology,  Biochemistry  etc.  Further  training  is  on-­‐going  to  keep  
staff  abreast  of  developing  technology  trends.  
 
The  Agency’s  intervention  in  national  development  spans  various  
sectors  including  Energy,  Agriculture,  Education  and  Manufacturing.  It  
operates  mainly  through  her  Development  Institutes.  Each  of  the  
Institutes  has  a  unique  mandate  of  Engineering  Infrastructural  
development.  At  present,  there  are  nine  (9)  Development  Institutes.  
These  institutes  have  developed  various  technologies  some  of  which  
have  been  ceded  to  the  SMEs.  The  Institutes  are:  
• Scientific  Equipment  Development  Institutes  (SEDI)  in  Enugu  and  
Minna  
• Electronic  Development  Institute  (ELDI),  Awka  
• Hydraulic  Equipment  Development  Institute  (HEDI),  Kano  
• Engineering  Materials  Development  Instiute  (EMDI),  Akure  
• National  Engineering  Design  Development  Institute  (NEDDI),  
Nnewi  
• Power  Equipment  and  Electrical  Machines  Development  
(PEEMADI),  Okene.  
• Prototype  Engineering  Development  Institute  (PEDI),  Ilesha.  
• Advanced  Manufacturing  Technology,  Jalingo    
 
 

INTRODUCTION  
Photovoltaic  (PV)  effect  is  the  
direct  conversion  of  sunlight  
into  electricity  using  a  
combination  of  simple  devices  
called  solar  cells  made  largely  
of  semiconductor  materials,  
particularly  silicon  (Si)  either  
in  the  crystalline  or  
amorphous  forms.  However,  it  
is  noteworthy  also  that  recent  
advances  in  studies  of  conjugated  polymers  have  shown  that  effecient  
and  stable  PV  cells  can  also  be  made  from  such  supply  that  is  clean  and  
environmentally  benign  in  contrast  to  most  of  the  conventional  energy  
production  technologies.  Although  the  present  contribution  of  solar  PV  
to  the  world  energy  needs  is  still  negligible,  given  the  fact  that  continued  
increasing  quest  for  industrialization  especially  in  the  third  world  
countries,  there  is  a  distinct  possibility  that  solar  PV  will  play  
increasingly  significant  role  in  the  world  energy  mix  of  the  21st  century.  

Nigeria  receives  about  5.08  x  1012  kWh  of  energy  per  day  from  the  sun  
with  3  -­‐  9  hours  of  sunshine.  In  view  of  this  abundant  sunshine  all  year  
round,  the  location  of  the  country  within  the  humid  tropical  region  and  
the  characteristic  isolated  pattern  of  human  settlement,  solar  PV  
technology  is  particularly  well  suited  for  use  in  Nigeria.  PV  modules  can  
be  designed  to  meet  specific  needs  at  the  site  where  it  is  needed;  
meaning  that  rural,  peri-­‐urban  or  urban  communities  can  easily  have  
access  to  reliable  electricity  for  solar  PV.  A  lot  of  solar  installations  have  
been  done  in  Nigeria  for:  street  lighting,  water  pumping,  domestic  or  
industrial  appliances  etc,  but  the  solar  panels  used  are  imported,  
making  the  solar  installation  expensive.  Until  recently,  there  is  a  lack  of  
local  manufacturing  capacity  in  photovoltaic  technology  in  Nigeria.  

The  establishment  of  a  PV  plant  in  Nigeria  is  envisaged  to  accelerate  the  
development,  application,  adaptation  and  diffusion  of  PV  technology  in  
the  country.  Furthermore,  if  used  in  the  country  off-­‐the  current  national  
grid  for  rural  electrification,  it  can  serve  as  a  'game  changer'  to  develop  
our  rural  areas  within  a  very  short  period.  Of  significance  to  note  is  that  
solar  cells  have  substantially  become  more  efficient  and  less  expensive.  
The  challenge  of  industrialization  coupled  with  global  environment  
concerns  and  the  need  to  develop  the  rural  and  peri-­‐urban  areas,  job  
creation  in  the  country,  provides  a  suitable  and  fertile  atmosphere  for  
the  development  of  a  viable  venture  in  the  production  and  sales  of  solar  
panels.  

 
FACILITIES  
As  stated  earlier,  the  KSPP  has  the  capacity  for  7.5MW  per  annum  and  
has  the  following  facilities;  

• Sorters  and  testers  

• Laser  scriber  
• Glass  Washing  Machine  
• Soldering  Table  
 • Trolleys  
• EvaCutting  Table  
• Framing  Machine  
• Laminator  
• Sun  Simulator  

 
KARSHI  SOLAR  PANEL  PLANT  
The  National  Agency  for  Science  and  Engineering  Infrastructure  
(NASENI),  has  established  a  Solar  Panel  Manufacturing  Plant  at  Karshi,  
FCT,  Abuja.  The  plant  with  the  capacity  of  7.5MW/year  is  established  
through  a  joint  venture  project  with  a  foreign  partner.  The  objective  of  
this  manufacturing  facility  centers  on  business  creation,  revenue  
generation,  capacity  building  and  ceding  of  technology.  

 
The  required  facilities  for  this  project  hace  been  installed  and  full  
operation  has  commenced.  The  first  solar  panel  was  produced  in  the  
plant  on  September  10,  2011  and  since  then  prodution  has  continued  
with  greater  success.  The  Federal  Government  of  Nigeria  through  
NASENI  funded  the  purchase  of  the  manufacturing  equipment,  
provision  of  the  basic  infrastructural  needs  (i.e.  land,  building  other  
infrastructure  and  necessary  utilities),  and  installation  and  
commissioning  of  the  equipment.  

Solar  panels  find  application  in  various  fields,  some  of  which  include  but  
are  not  limited  to  the  following:  

• Domestic/street  lighting  
• Industrial  
• PV  for  water  pumping  
 • Agriculture/Irrigation  purposes  
• Communication  /  Powering  of  repeater  stations  and  
telecommunication  booster  stations.  

There  is  no  doubt  that  a  potentially  large  market  exist  for  solar  PV  in  
Nigeria  as  well  as  within  the  West  African  sub-­‐region  and  Africa  as  a  
whole.  

 
KSSP  SECTIONS  
The  Karshi  Solar  Panel  Plant  is  divided  into  the  following  sections:  

1. Cell  Sorting  &  Testing  

2. Soldering  
3. EVA/TPT  cutting  
4. Glass  Washing  
5. Termination  
6. Laminating  
7. Framing  
8. Simulation/Testing  
9. Labelling  and  Packaging  

   

 
 
CONCESSION  
While  the  infrastructure  developed  by  NASENI  is  used  to  propagate  the  
technology  through  reverse  engineering  and  other  means;  the  resultant  
multiplier  effect  serves  as  a  learning  curve  and  a  basis  for  developing  
expertise  in  the  chosen  area  of  discipline.  

The  establishment  of  Karshi  Solar  Panel  Plant  (KSPP)  using  imported  
technology  from  China  is  also  to  serve  the  same  purpose.  The  Solar  
Panel  Plant,  a  simple  idea  whose  time  has  come,  is  established  with  the  
following  objectives  among  others:  

• Provide  infrastructure  for  the  exploration  of  renewable  energy  

mainly  solar  photovoltaic  
• Provide  infrastructure  for  the  provision  of  energy  throughh  
alternative  source  especially  solar  
• Provide  a  learning  curve  for  R&D  in  the  development  and  
production  of  solar  cells  from  ingots  using  available  raw  materials  
• Reverse  engineering  of  machines  as  well  as  production  of  parts  
and  components  at  cheaper  cost  
• Develop  capcity  and  core  competencies  in  various  areas  of  
renewable  energy,  specifically  in  solar  panels  production  
• Deploy  the  facility  to  generate  revenue  while  retaining  it  as  a  
public  property  and  training  centre.  

As  a  strategy,  the  technologies  accruing  from  the  Karshi  Solar  Panel  

Plant  and  indeed  all  other  infrastructure  developed  and  provided  by  
NASENI  are  embedded  with  business  development  modalities.  These  
modalities  encapsulate  all  the  objectives  of  developing  and  providing  
such  technologies.  

The  objectives  of  the  strategy  is  to  create  business,  generate  revenue,  
develop  capacity  and  cede  technologies  from  all  facilities  available  at  
NASENI  Headquarters  and  the  institutes  including  Karshi  Solar  Panel  
Plant.  In  view  of  the  foregoing,  the  Agency  has:  

• Pooled  together  all  activities  and  facilities  developed  as  

infrastructure  in  the  area  of  renewable  energy  (Solar  PV,  SHP  
turbines,  Wind  energy  generation)  under  one  umbrella  of  
business  
 • Classified  and  conducted  engineering  and  economic  auditing  of  all  
its  facilities  and  equipment  
• Appointed  concessionaires  who  will  use  the  facilities  at  the  
factory  or  the  excess  capacities  available  at  the  Institutes  to  
produce  finished  products  at  a  prior  agreed  or  worked  out  
modality  to  generate  revenue  
• Appointed  Managing  Consultant  to  manage  the  use  of  the  facilities  
by  public  or  individual  concessionaries  
• Developed  a  blueprint  for  mounting  of  exhibbitions  and  road  
shows  to  showcase  products  as  well  as  to  identify  interested  and  
willing  entrepreneurs.  The  entrepreneurs  will  be  mentored  and  
encouraged  to  establish  businesses  in  the  identified  technologies.  

For  participants,  the  concession  arrangement  is  as  follows:  

1. The  concessionaires  are  required  to  provide  the  raw  materials  

and  use  the  facilities  at  Karshi  Solar  Panel  Plant  to  reproduce  the  
solar  panels.  The  solar  panels  are  then  evacuated  by  the  
Concessionaires.  
2. The  7.5MW/year  capacity  of  the  plant  is  shared  among  
participating  firms.  

 
IMPACTS  
The  following  are  the  benefits  of  the  Karshi  Solar  Panel  facility:  

I. A  technical  breakthrough  in  solar  panel  production  

II. It  facilitates  reduction  in  the  cost  of  solar  panel  
III. It  fosters  capacity  building  and  sustainable  development  in  solar  
PV.  
IV. It  leads  to  job  creation.  
V. It  serves  as  testing  facility  for  solar  modules  in  Nigeria.  
VI. It  can  be  replicated  and/or  scaled-­‐up  in  all  the  Geo-­‐political  zones,  
states  of  Nigeria.  

 
MANAGEMENT  
A  Manager  is  running  the  plant  with  technicians  and  operators.  The  
Agency  also  has  a  core  of  well-­‐trained  manpower  that  can  be  pooled  
from  its  institutes  and  headquarters  for  effective  turn-­‐around  
maintenance  of  the  facilities.