ABSTRACT
As a result of the danger posed to the environment by fossil fuels, the world is shifting towards low-carbon energy. Nigeria is endowed with abundant renewable energy resources. It is however regrettable that Nigeria is yet to exploit these huge available energy potentials with less environmental and climatic impacts. This article highlights renewable energy resources across Nigeria and recommends the need to harness them to address the current energy crisis.
INTRODUCTION
Very recently, the Nigerian government removed the subsidy on petrol. This leads to socio-economic problems due to the energy crisis. Nigeria is blessed with abundant renewable resources that if fully harnessed will serve as an alternative and eco-friendly energy resource. Regrettably, only a small fraction of this energy is exploited. The Nigerian government has taken some steps towards encouraging the use of renewable and alternative energies in different sectors of the economy. For example, the long-term renewable energy master plan developed by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) is aimed at addressing the challenges of moving toward a clean, reliable, secure, and competitive energy supply in Nigeria (Akorede et al., 2017). A couple of these policies have been put in place but Nigeria is yet to attain its energy demands.
RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIALS IN NIGERIA
Renewable energy sources have contributed to Nigeria’s energy mix in the last few centuries. For example, fuel wood is the primary energy source for rural dwellers. Similarly, hydropower has contributed in no small measures as an energy source, providing about 32% of Nigeria’s electric grid. The adoption of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, small hydropower, and biomass is relatively recent.
For Biomass energy resources, research revealed that bio-energy reserves of Nigeria stood at 13 million hectares of fuelwood, 61 million tonnes per year of animal waste, and 83 million tonnes of crop residues (Agba et al., 2010). There is also a huge quantity of identified feedstock substrate for biogas production from solid waste. It has been estimated that Nigeria produces about 227,500 tons of animal waste daily, since 1 (kg) of animal waste produces about 0.03 m3 of gas, then Nigeria can produce about 6.8 million m3 of biogas every day (Famous, 2018).
Nigeria is blessed to be geographically suited to the tropics, thus it’s richly endowed with solar energy with an annual average daily sunshine of 6.5 hours, ranging from 4 hours at the coastal areas to 9 hours at the far northern boundary. Studies have shown that Nigeria receives an average solar radiation of 3.5 kWh/m2 a day at coastal latitude and 7 kWh/m2 a day at the far north (Oyedepo, 2014). Scientists argue that if the right technology is adopted, solar radiation in almost every location in Nigeria is viable for electricity generation (Shaaban and Petinrin, 2014).
Nigeria has considerable hydro potential exemplified by her large rivers and streams. A large number of untapped hydropower potential of about 12,190 MW has been identified in various locations across the country. At present, hydroelectric power serves as one of the most important energy resources. Nigeria has three main hydropower plants with installed capacities totaling 12,522 MW. These three hydropower plants contribute about 35.6% of power to the national grid. The fourth hydropower station has a total capacity of 21 MW (Mohammed et al., 2013). According to a report, the overall hydropower potential that can be explored in Nigeria is put at 28 GW, with Large Hydropower having a share of 24 GW and Small Hydro having 3.5 GW.
In Nigeria, currently, the share of wind energy in the national energy consumption is low. Only a few number of stand-alone wind power plants were installed. Wind speed in Nigeria ranges from 1.4-3.0m/s in the southern areas and 4.0-5.12m/s in the extreme north. Studies have shown that the total exploitable wind energy reserve at 10m height may vary from 8MWh/yr to 51MWh/yr and it is as high as 97MWh/yr. This is indeed a good potential for energy generation. In recent times numerous studies have been carried out to assess the wind speed characteristics and associated wind energy potentials in different locations.
CONCLUSION
The status of renewable energy resources currently available in Nigeria, and the potential to utilize them in meeting the current energy crisis facing the country is necessary. Renewable energy resources examined include; biomass, hydropower, solar energy, and wind. Estimates on their potential energy production capacity were provided. Despite their availability in reasonable quantities, these resources are grossly underutilized in Nigeria. New measures to boost the growth of renewable energy resources are needed. These measures will come in the form of policies, regulations, legislative framework, licensing arrangements for private-sector operators, Feed-in Tariffs, and clarifying market rules for renewable energy services and products.
By Sahal Muhammad Inuwa
REFERENCES
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