Towards a Sustainable Electricity Supply in Nigeria: The Role of Decentralized Renewable Energy System

Abstract

In Nigeria, access to reliable and stable supply of electricity is a major challenge for both the urban and rural dwellers. In this study, comprehensive review of accessibility to clean and modern energy in Nigeria has been carried out. Also, this paper examines the potential of renewable energy (RE) resources in Nigeria that can be harnessed for continuous energy supply and the government's efforts to ensure RE's sustainability. Nigeria is endowed with abundant energy resources but the existing electric energy infrastructures are unable to meet the energy demands of teeming population. There is imbalance in energy supply and demand in the country. Over the period from 2000 to 2014, there was an average of about 2.35 billion kWh of energy gap between energy production and energy consumption. The highest electricity consumption per capita recorded so far was 156 kWh in 2012. This makes Nigeria one of the country with the lowest electricity consumption on per capita basis in the world. In order to improve access to clean energy supply and achieve sustainable development, this paper pin points the significance of decentralized renewable energy systems and needs for the government to review the policies on renewable energy development in the country.

Nigerian Oil Palm Industry as a Sustainable Renewable Energy Resource

“…The country has been classified to be among countries that have a high potential for bioenergy development, with about 72 million hectares of arable land available. About 60% of cultivable land is still vacant for out-growers to conveniently execute crop plantation to meet up with any feasible feedstock demand for biofuel production both for local consumption and exportation prospect [16]. Figure 2 is showing the land use for the year 2015 as recorded by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [17].…”

Electricity Generation from the Foot Beats of Dancers at Club Centres in Awka, Anambra State

“…The socio-economic development of any country is largely dependent on the availability and accessibility of electricity [1][2][3]. The sustainability and defossilisation of today's energy systems to guard against the impacts of climate change in Nigeria have also been advocated [4,5].…”

Comparative Analysis of Electrical Power Utilization in Nigeria: From Conventional Grid to Renewable Energy-based Mini-grid Systems

“…Aspects of the work here reported have been researched by several authors including [3,[6][7][8][9]. However, their work has been limited to the determination of the extent of the conventional grid, determination of electrical energy consumption per capita, deployment of renewable energy resources and the need for an improved mix for electrical energy generation.…”

“…The paper however did not consider energy generated from renewable sources. An overview of the extent of the conventional grid is reported by Oyedepo et al [6], in addition to identifying gaps between supply and demand of electricity. The paper also emphasizes the importance of a decentralized renewable energy deployment within the country.…”