Gloryland IM Limited, the sole representatives of Dyode Limited, said it plans to set up a N500million factory that will be producing LED lamps in Nigeria. The lamps are currently being produced outside the country.
An LED lamp (or LED light bulb) is defined as a solid-state lamp that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light. Such lamps also offer long service life and high energy efficiency, but are usually more expensive than the fluorescent and incandescent lamps in use in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the company, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos recently, said the factory which is expected to be completed within two years, between 2013 and 2015 will also create about 450 new jobs.
He said, “The N500million is only for the first phase of the factory, and it will employ about 450 technical staff, which will be increased to 1,000 within one year of becoming operational. When it resumes manufacturing fully, we will need about 5,000 direct workers and this will lead to a multiplier effect in terms of suppliers and other services required.” He added that some of the components for the lamps can be sourced locally.
Ohuabunwa further disclosed that the factory will be located between Lagos and Ogun states, adding that the management was currently in the process of delineating the market before the factory takes off.
Wealth preservation, 91% tariff slash
Expatiating more on the Led lamps, the Managing Director of Gloryland, Mr. Mike Adegun, who is also the Chairman of the China-based, Dyode Limited, a firm established by Nigerians in diaspora to manufacture the WonDDalite LED lamps, said the use of the lamps is Nigeria’s answer to wealth and energy conservation.
He argued that the country stands to save about $548billion if at least 10 million of the 60-watt incandescent lamps, ICLs, are exchanged for the LED lamps. He added that not only do the LED lamps have a 15-year life span, they can also effectively reduce electricity consumption tariff by 91 percent.
By his calculations, the exchange of 10 million 60-watt incandescent lamps of 600 mega watts, MW of power for 10 million 5.2 watt LED lamps will save up to 548MW of power, as only 52MW will be utilised, thereby diverting the preserved energy for industrial use.
According to him, “548MW is more than the power generated by the Kainji Power Plant, and more than double the capacity of the Sapele Power Plant.”
Citing the example Ghana, he said that without expanding generation capacity, the Ghanaian Government, being the first African country to undertake such a measure was able to save 1,200MW daily or from the exchange of six million ICLs for compact fluorescent lamps, CFL.
“The interim report of the Government shows that by applying this measure, Ghana saved $3.3million per month and $39.5million per year (assuming an oil price of $120/barrel),” he said.
Health and environment safety
Adegun also noted, the LED lamps part from being more energy efficient with 5.2watt output compared with the 60 watts of incandescent bulbs and the 13 watts of the compact fluorescent lamps, CFL, are also more eco-friendly. The LED lamps do not emit heat unlike the ICLs which emit 95 percent heat and carbondioxide, C02; they also do not contain mercury which is poisonous to the body like the ICLs.
For instance, he quoted the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, as saying that with the exchange of the six million ICLs, Ghana “is also saving 105,000 tonnes of C02 every year.” The country is now in the process of also phasing out the CFLs for LED lamps.
In view of the dangers associated with the ICLs and CFLs, he observed that the use of such lamps is being phased out in the developed countries as well as some African countries.
In the case of the United States, U.S. the Gloryland chief executive noted that the use of both the ICLs and CFLs has been banned. In particular, he said that statistics showed up to 18 percent amputation of cuts sustained from ICLs due to the mercury content. “In the U.S. there is law that when an incandescent lamp breaks, residents should phone 911 to come and pack the debris, and the vacuum used in cleaning the room should not be used for another room,” he added.
Furthermore, to encourage the mass production of the LED lamps as well as reduce costs, he said the US Government gave Phillips about $10million to provide the LED lamps.
He noted that although the Nigerian Government has publicly announced the adoption of the use of the LED lamps, nothing is being done to discourage the continued importation of the ICLs and CFLs into the country.
Government, through the Ministry of Power promised that it will give out the LED bulbs for free, following the introduction of the new tariff regime under the Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO 2, but nothing has become of that promise due to issues associated with the contractors and the supplies
