Renewable Energy – The Nigerian Opportunity

It is not news that Nigeria does not produce enough electricity for her population of over 170 million people. According to the Federal Ministry of Power, an estimated 90 million people are without access to grid electricity in Nigeria. The Ministry also stated that in 1999, the electric power sector had reached the lowest point in its 100-year history with an average daily generation put at 1,750 MW.

Fast forward to 2016 and the story is not very different from where we are coming from.  As at mid-February 2016, generation stood at about 3,558 MW.  This came shortly after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced that Nigeria has, for the first time in the history of her electricity generation, generated about 5,074 megawatts (MW) of electricity on the 2^nd of February 2016.

Renewable energy (particularly solar) has considerable potential in Nigeria, and could bridge the major energy gaps in rural areas, particularly northern Nigeria.  Major improvements in energy efficiency and the cost of renewable-energy products have meant that the amount of capital needed for key applications has declined dramatically. Adapting renewable energy for water boreholes, lighting, refrigeration of medical supplies, and IT uses for rural areas has rapidly become more affordable.

However, there is still a need for capital investment but costs have often fallen by more than 75% in the last five years. Key steps are still needed to link capital, market development and reliability but growth overseas demonstrates that these are steps, which could bring about swift changes.

Nigeria targets 13,000MW electricity from Solar Energy

In December 2015, the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed said the government has announced plans to develop about 13,000 MW of off-grid electricity from Solar Energy.  She stated that the government was working to diversify the country’s energy mix, stressing that particular emphasis was on renewable energy and efficient gas power.

Solar Energy Potential in Nigeria

The Energy Commission of Nigeria predicts that Nigeria will need almost 200,000 MW in 2030, and the question on everyone’s lips is, where will this electricity come from?

Nigeria has some of the highest solar energy potential in the world, especially in the Northern region with the ability to generate up to 1800 kWh annually per KWp (kilowatt-power) of solar installation.

The Nigeria Insolation Map shows clearly the country’s solar energy potential.  Sparse rainfall and low cloud cover translate to high solar PV capacity factor of over 20%.  This makes the case for solar photovoltaic (solar PV) plants strong to boost electricity production.  Global utility-scale solar PV costs have decreased year-on-year (falling over 75% between 2010 and 2015) and this offers a unique opportunity for Nigeria, as the economic case for investment is compelling.

Nigeria Insolation Map

 

The Global Solar PV Trend

The global renewable energy industry has undergone massive transformation in the last 5 years with electricity produced from solar PV and wind energy not only becoming cost-competitive with traditional forms of power generation (i.e. coal, natural gas and hydro), but also becoming mainstream in a number of countries. Initially driven by an energy transition policy in Germany, this transformation has seen emerging economies like China, India and South Africa adding significant solar PV and wind generation capacities to their electricity grids.

Between 2010 and 2015, total global electricity generated from solar PV increased from 6 GW to 180 GW, while generation from wind increased from 200 GW to 400 GW. These exponential growths are expected to continue into the future, as renewable resources replace fossil fuelled power generation.

Nigeria has, sadly, been virtually absent from this transformation. By addressing the challenges and policy bottlenecks which have hindered the growth of renewable-based power generation in Nigeria, Government will be well placed to create the enabling environment that allows Nigeria to leapfrog energy growth trajectories, bringing about a transformation in the way electricity is generated and consumed.

Changes in electricity generation technologies, cost and financing structures within the last 5 years call for the implementation of policies that favour the fast-track growth of both small and large scale solar PV and wind to complement natural gas and hydro generation facilities on which the national grid is currently 100% dependent. This broadening of the electricity generation mix would benefit from a sense of national urgency, allowing for significant capacity additions to the grid, which in turn would spur the growth of businesses and bring about much needed development.

Utility Scale Grid vs off-Grid Solar

There is always the debate on whether to focus on utility scale Solar PV solutions, which are connected to the grid, or to focus on off-grid stand-alone solutions.  In Nigeria today, the only way the government can meet the needed expansion of the power system will be to focus on off-grid solutions. The future of electricity lies in off-grid and Nigeria has the assets needed for communities to become energy independent.

Investing in min-grids will ensure that communities get the much-needed electricity rather than have them wait for expensive grid-expansion projects.  In the long term, these off-grid solutions will be cheaper and will be used to drive a number of projects including rural water supply, irrigation for agriculture as well as providing power for small-scale businesses.  The amount of time it takes to deploy off-grid solutions (starting from as little as one week for kW solutions to 6 months for MW solutions), is very little compared to the 5+ years it takes to build and commission traditional hydro and thermal power plants.

Energy storage has always been a major concern when it comes to off-grid solutions. Technological and market forces have converged to make energy storage one of the most exciting and potentially game-changing opportunities for commercial and industrial applications, grid operators, homeowners and investors.  Traditional storage solutions include Deep-Cycle Flooded, AGM and Gel Batteries (Lead-Acid), to the more advanced batteries including Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI^TM), Lithium-Ion (LiON) and Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) batteries.

Recommendation – The Way Forward

One of the main thrusts of the power-sector reforms is to remove government as an actor in the operational and much of the ownership sense, leaving its role primarily as one of regulation.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) needs to formulate and implement renewable energy feed-in-tariffs that will be honoured by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Plc (NBET) and the various Electricity Distribution companies affecting the signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). 

The government also needs to provide tax holidays and low interest loans for small and medium scale renewable energy schemes and operators, custom waivers for importation of renewable energy equipment and ensure that only high quality renewable energy products enter into the country.

The government will have to see renewable energy as means of rural electrification as opposed to grid-connected renewable energy.

Lastly, one cannot talk about renewable energy without focusing on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. The government will have to introduce a policy framework and regulations to introduce and mandate legal energy efficiency requirements.

Goal 7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG’s is “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.  Nigeria as a country will have to work at achieving the goals as set out.  The United Nations mandates that these goals are achieved by the year 2030, and they include; ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services; increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix; double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology; expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support

Overall, Renewable Energy solutions, especially Solar Photovoltaic will be the future for sustainable and efficient electricity generation in Nigeria.

The Youth and Political Governance in Nigeria!

-by Stanley Vandu

Youth is an essential and vital part of any society.  They are the backbone of any economy (dependable workforce), and for me personally being a youth is an exciting period in one’s life. In Nigeria youth and politics have never seemed to be a good mix, this is largely aggravated by our ailing African age grade systems, sit tight leaders, and a poor leadership recruitment and training machinery.

However it will interest you to note that we have done ourselves a lot of disservice by not being part of the governance process. Most young people stay away from essential building processes in private and public spheres. In Universities, most of us do not get involved in student union politics, or do not participate in voter registration, but we are still are dissatisfied on how government is run or complain how the university is administrated.

We need to break away from our old habits and familiar spirits, leave our comfort zones and engage the democratic structures. Even if it is as small as choosing a class prefect in secondary school we should insist the process be democratic. It was William James who once said "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind."

We must also institute a process where before you lead, you must have a proven track record of excellence and have succeeded in your chosen field of endeavour, because success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, the axiom shifts to growing others.

We have to engage other young people and task them to pay more attention and participate in the process of elections, not just to come out to vote on Election Day but to participate in the whole governance process. Like participating in voter’s registration, electorate education and sensitisation, understanding government policies and engaging the government constructively and contributing positively to the whole process.

Electoral systems are a good opportunity for us to engage in institutionalising the culture of responsible leadership in young people.  A Leadership that has the ability to establish standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of long term constructive goals, in a participatory environment of mutual respect, compatible with personal values and the character which inspires confidence.

America, which has one of the most successful democracy’s today, had a very strict and closed electoral system at the beginning of elections in that country, the first ever election in America was held in Virginia in 1619, and to be enfranchised you had to be free, a white male, a land owners and 21 years of age, and this system ran for close to a 80 years until people stood up to challenge the system and then modification came and all its amendments. And today the situation is different; we all know the Obama story, the world’s greatest army being lead by a black with African roots.

As youth, we have to learn to ‘Play Politics’.  We should get involved in this process from the earliest time we can.  We should ensure we start from our schools, ensuring that we are involved in the student union governments, up to our wards and communities and where ever we find ourselves.  We cannot continue to sit and complain and hope things would change.

We have to be the change we want to see.  We must use our number to our advantage.