Getting it right with Solar Powered Tricycles
Some months ago @mokluc wrote a post about Matthew Cherry, the man who invented the tricycle. Fast forward 129 years later, in the year 2017, the federal government of Nigeria announced (through the dailies) the introduction of solar powered tricycles also known as “keke Napep” for the Nigerian Transport sector. The need for this development was to curb air pollution and the high cost of procurement and maintenance of these vehicles. The average cost is about 550,000 Naira ($1500).
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The Tricycle is the basic form of transportation for some developing countries. It is especially popular in urban areas with high population density. I was intrigued and decided to do some research on this evolution. India and China, being masters of the tricycle are researching this technology and have come out with prototypes. recently, the international journal of advanced research in engineering, science and management( IJARSEM) published a study on “Solar tricycles for handicapped persons” by professors Ripalkumar Patel, Vikesh Patel, and Vishal Dhimmar. Their final design featured a leaner transmission shaft, a 300 watts PV source, 100Ah batteries, DC motor and accelerator all locally sourced. The max load that it can easily sustain is 120 kg of weight (average of 2 persons). It consumes 0.5 Kw / Km and does not have a real cabin to protect passengers from the elements.It is powered 100% by Solar.
In contrast, the government of Nigeria has granted Messrs. Arthur Energy Technology Ltd and Oldang International licenses for the assembly of these vehicles with partnerships from abroad. The later company is marketing 3 variant of this vehicle. The problem is that on its website it defines it as either gasoline, electric, or solar hybrid powered.
Wikipedia defines a solar hybrid power system as a “hybrid power systems that combine solar power from a photovoltaic system with another power generating energy source” This means that petrol might still be the other source. The alternative, electric powered, would be too expensive as it uses more batteries and would require special charging stations.
Conclusion
The introduction of renewable energy technology in transportation is a welcomed development. However, to fully benefit from this economically, the government policy should be to take the "long view approach" and encourage the design, production and assembly of both technologies I.e. Full solar and hybrid-solar locally
Thanks for reading.