Electricity situation and potential development in Nigeria using off-grid green energy solutions

Abstract

Sustainable supply of electricity is crucial to comfortable living in homes and attaining economic development in any country. Despite being blessed with enormous green and non-green energy resources, Nigeria has been in a quandary about adequate generation and supply of electricity. The electricity crisis has, over the years, had significant adverse impact on the nation's socio-economic and technological development as well as standard of living of its citizens. This paper examines the problems in the electricity sector and the energy potential of green energy resources in Nigeria. The study reveals that the major source of electricity generation (natural gas) and mode of electricity transmission (a single national grid) in the country have been and are still being constrained by myriad of challenges, hence, the inability of the power sector to satisfy the electricity yearnings of Nigerians till date. The study also reveals that about 1182.375GWh of energy per day could be obtained from green energy resources in Nigeria and the provision of this quantity of energy through decentralized off-grid energy solutions would significantly increase electricity availability as well as accessibility in the country.

An Assessment of Potential Resources for Biomass Energy in Nigeria

“…Oyedepo [34] noted that the electricity supplied to the industrial sector is not adequate and other private arrangements for generating power were explored by the industries. To address the shortage of electricity, the off-grid electricity supply using renewable energy has been advocated by some researchers [29,36,37]. This will ensure the adequate access to electricity in the remote and rural areas of the country.…”

Exploring Factors Influencing Renewable Energy Diffusion in Commercial Buildings in Nigeria: A Grounded Theory Approach

“…Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and largest economy, as well as home to one of the world's largest energy deficits, not to mention being endowed with an abundant and diverse catalogue of RE resources and energy potential [11,26,38]. Given the significance of RETs in the fight to combat climate change and Nigeria's energy potential-particularly relating to solar power [39]-the country is well-positioned to play a key role in championing sustainability. Solar energy is seen as having the potential to significantly contribute to Nigeria's energy portfolio nationally and, more specifically, in buildings, given its widespread availability and application [40].…”

“…Consequently, Nigeria's use of generators to bridge the energy access gap makes it Africa's largest generator importer [11], for which the IEA, in its 2017 Energy Access Outlook Report [43], estimated a yearly fuel cost of circa USD 22 billion associated with private backup diesel generation for Nigerian businesses and households (see also [44]). The country's energy mix is primarily crude oil and gas, hydropower, and biomass (fuelwood), with hydropower and fossil fuels both contributing to its on-grid electricity system [39]. Other RETs, such as solar energy, are underutilised and not prioritised [45].…”

“…Research into RET and its potential for building adoption in the Nigerian built environment is not new; however, the available literature is primarily limited in focus to the adoption of PV in the residential sector, or RETs more broadly from a national perspective [31,39,50]. From a residential sector perspective, studies have mostly focused on small-scale, decentralised, standalone power generation for rural use [41,51,52].…”

Challenges to energy transitioning in commercial buildings in the Nigerian built environment – from generator to RETs economy

“…These factors have and continue to drive the call for a cleaner energy sector (Adeyanju et al, 2020), particularly as self-generation through privately-owned generators is widespread (Ajenikoko et al, 2018;Adejoro, 2017;Imandojemu and Tonuchi, 2021). Nigeria is the largest user of generators in Africa (IEA, 2019) and the region's 2 nd largest GHG emitter (Ritchie and Roser, 2019) as can be seen in This is despite its noteworthy catalogue of both conventional and RE resources and energy potential (Akhator et al, 2019;Chanchangi et al 2022), described as underexploited and/or overshadowed due to its oil-producing capacity and exportation gains (Abdullahi, et al 2021;Adeyanju et al, 2020;Cervigni et al's, 2013). Nigeria is ranked as a leading country with high solar potential (Ohunakin et al, 2014), with solar recognised not only key to its national energy diversification but also its direct and/or specific use in buildings due to its widespread availability and diverse application (Adesanya and Schelly, 2019;Mas'ud et al, 2021).…”