SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: STATU, … Sambo's Presentation t…  · Web viewEnergy, especially crude oil, has over the past ten years contributed an average of about

RENEWABLE ENERGYTECHNOLOGIES

FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

By

Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, OON, NPOM

B.Eng (ABU), D.Phil (Sussex), Regd Engr (COREN)

FAEng, FAS, FNSE, FNIMechE, FSESN, FNAEE, FRAESON

[email protected] or [email protected]

*Presented at the Fellows Forum, Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Lagos, 20th March,

2014

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SUMMARY

Although Nigeria is a major oil producing nation there is the urgent need to conserve the oil and gas through significant reduction of the quantities consumed internally. This can be achieved through the large-scale utilization of the renewable energy resources for which the nation is well endowed with.

The active use of the Renewable Energy resources of solar, hydro, wind and biomass/biofuel will also minimize the global climate change problems as they do not contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which is the primary cause of global warming.

Large-scale deployment of the various Renewable Energy technologies is thus a sustainable development pathway that can be achieved by the passage of the National Energy Policy and the National Renewable Energy Masterplan into law as well as the adoption of a feed-in-tariff both of which will incentivize the utilization and domestication of Renewable Energy technologies in Nigeria.

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1. Introduction

Mr. President, distinguished Fellows, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am very delighted to make a presentation to the highly distinguished audience on “RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA” because it will provide me the chance to share my thoughts with Fellows on the roles that renewable energy can play in the sustainable socio-economic growth of Nigeria. I should also express my delight that this is the second time I am presenting a lecture to the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, the first was shortly after the award of the Academy’s Fellowship on me in 2001.

It is well established that all processes in the universe are energy driven. It is also a fact that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can only be transformed from one form to another. Energy exists in various forms like chemical, electrical, mechanical, heat, light, magnetic, nuclear and so on. It should be very clearly pointed out that energy is of little interest in itself. However, it is an essential ingredient for socio-economic growth. The objective of the energy system is to provide energy services. Energy services are the desired and useful products, processes, or services that result from the use of energy, such as for lighting, provision of air-conditioned indoor climate, refrigerated storage, transportation, appropriate temperatures for cooking, and so on. The energy chain to deliver these services begins with the collection or extraction of primary energy, which is then converted into energy carriers

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suitable for various end-uses. These energy carriers are used in energy end-use technologies to provide the desired energy services [Sambo A.S. (2009)]. All forms of energy may be converted to electricity, which is the most versatile form of energy and, in fact, considered the highest grade of energy.

Energy is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economic growth and development. It plays a significant role in the nation’s international diplomacy and it serves as a tradable commodity for earning the national income, which is used to support government development programmes. It also serves as an input into the production of goods and services in the nation’s industry, transport, agriculture, health and education sectors, as well as an instrument for politics and security.

Energy, and in particular, oil and gas, has continued to contribute over 70% of Nigeria’s Federal revenue. National developmental programmes, depend largely on these revenue earnings. Energy, especially crude oil, has over the past ten years contributed an average of about 25% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), representing the highest contributor after crop production. The contribution of energy to GDP is expected to be higher when we take into account renewable energy utilization, which constitutes about 90% of the energy used by the rural population. It should be noted that Nigeria which is located between longitude 3 and 14 degrees East of Greenwich and latitude 4 and 14 degrees north of

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equator has more than 160 million people and a total land area of 923,768 square kilometres.

The energy sector, especially petroleum, continues to maintain its prominence as the single most important source of government revenue and foreign exchange earner. In the power sub-sector there is high-energy loss due to the physical deterioration of the transmission and distribution facilities, an inadequate metering system and an increase in the incidence of power theft through illegal connections. Other problems of the power sector include manpower constraints and inadequate support facilities, the high cost of electricity production, inadequate basic industries to service the power sector, poor billing systems, poor settlements of bills by consumers and low available capacity which is about 40% out of the installed capacity. However, the Power Sector reform of Mr President that was started in 2009 is beginning to address the key problems of the sub-sector. The privatization of the PHCN successor companies has gone far, a management contractor has been appointed to operate the national transmission network, the Bulk Operator has been completed, the National Integrated Power Projects are gradually coming on stream and the projects are on the verge of being privatized. Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is fully functional.

The situation in the rural areas of the country is that most end users depend on fuelwood. Fuelwood is used by over 60% of Nigerians living in the rural areas. Nigeria consumes over 50 million

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metric tonnes of fuelwood annually, a rate, which exceeds the replenishment rate through various afforestation programmes. Sourcing fuelwood for domestic and commercial uses is a major cause of desertification in the arid-zone states and erosion in the southern part of the country. The rate of deforestation is about 350,000 hectares per year, which is equivalent to 3.6% of the present area of forests and woodlands, whereas reforestation is only at about 10% of the deforestation rate [Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) (2007)].

The rural areas, which are generally inaccessible due to absence of good road networks, have little access to modern energy services such as electricity and petroleum products. Petroleum products such as kerosene and gasoline are purchased in the rural areas at prices that are as much as 150% in excess of their official pump prices. The daily needs of the rural populace for heat energy are, therefore, met almost entirely from fuelwood.

With the ongoing restructuring of the power sector it is obvious that for logistic and economic reasons especially under the privatized power sector, rural areas which are remote from the grid and/or have low consumption or low power purchase potential will not be attractive to private power investors. Such areas may remain unserved for the distant future. This is where renewable energy (RE) generated electricity with the adoption of a feed-in-tariff will be most ideal.RE electricity will also be much needed in the peri-urban areas that are often not served by the grid.

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Meanwhile electricity is required for such basic developmental services as supply of pipe borne water, health care, telecommunications and quality education. The poverty eradication and Universal Basic Education (UBE) programmes require energy for success. The absence of reliable energy supply has not only left the rural populace socially backward but has left their economic potentials untapped. Fortunately, Nigeria is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, biomass and small hydropower potentials. The logical solution is to ensure increased penetration of renewable energy into the Nigerian national energy supply mix.

Section 2 of this presentation will be on the conventional and renewable energy resources of Nigeria. Sections 3, 4 and 5 will respectively focus on Current Trends in Renewable Energy Utilisation in Nigeria; Barriers to the Large-Scale Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies in Nigeria; and The Way Forward. The Conclusions made will be presented in section 6.

2. Energy Resources in Nigeria

Nigeria is endowed with large amounts of many energy resources as shown in Table 1 below. Crude oil reserves stands at 36.22 billion barrels, mainly within the Niger-Delta region; while tar sands reserves stands at 31 billion barrels of oil equivalent, mainly in a narrow belt, 120 km wide stretching from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State

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to the western parts of Edo State. 2.7 billion tonnes of coal and lignite exists mainly within the North-Central, North East and South Eastern States. About 187 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas, exists mainly within the Niger Delta region. There are very strong indications that oil and gas are likely to be found in the Chad Basin, the Upper Benue Troughs in the North Eastern part of the country as well as in the Bida Basin and the Sokoto Basin.

The country also has large hydropower potential of 11,250 MW and small hydropower potential of 3,500 MW. Hydropower capacities above 30 MW in Nigeria are referred to as large. Annual average daily solar radiation intensities of between 3.5 kWh/m2/day and 7.0 kWh/m2/day are available within the country, as one moves from the southern to the far northern parts of the country. Annual average on-shore wind resource of between 2m/s and 4m/s, at10 metres height, are also found within the country. In 2005, a software that indicates wind speeds at any location and heights of between 10m and 100m within Nigeria was produced by Lahmeyer Consultants of Germany for the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. This is a powerful wind energy database that will enable designers and developers to use the data to design wind energy systems for all parts of the country.

Fuelwood, which meets the largest share of the energy needs of the rural communities in the country, is available within about 11 million hectares of land in the country, and about 0.11 million

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tonnes is consumed daily. It should be noted that about 70% of the nation’s population reside in the rural areas. In addition to

Table 1: Energy Resources of Nigeria

S/No. Resource TypeReserves (Natural Units)

Production Level (natural units

Utilization (natural units)

1. Light Crude Oil 36.22 billion barrels 2.5 million barrels/day

450,000 barrels/day

2. Natural Gas 187 trillion SCF 6 Billion SCF/day

3.4 billion SCF/day

3. Coal and lignite 2.734 billion tonnes insignificant insignificant4. Tar Sands 31 billion barrels of

oil equivalent- -

5. Large Hydropower 11,250 MW 1,938 MW (167.4 million MWh/day

167.4 Million MWh/day

6. Small Hydropower 3,500 MW 30 MW (2.6 million MWh/day

2.6 million MWh/day

7. Solar Radiation 3.5 - 7.0 kWh/m2/day (485.1 million MWh/day using 0.1% Nigeria land area)

Excess of 240 kWp of solar PV or 0.01 million MWh/day

Excess of 0.01million MWph/day of solar PV

8. Wind (2-4) m/s at 10m height

- -

9.

Biomass

Fuelwood 11 million hectares of forest and woodland

0.110 million tonnes/day

0.120 million tonnes/day

Animal waste

245 million assorted in 2001

0.781 million tonnes of waste/day in 2001

Not available

Energy Drops and Agric Residue

72 million hectares of Agric. Land and all waste lands

Excess of 0.256 million tonnes of assorted crops residues/ day in 1996

Not available

10. Nuclear Element Not yet quantified - -

Sources: (i) Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 2007)(ii) Renewable Energy Masterplan (REMP) 2005(iii) Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (2008)

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fuelwood, the rural communities also utilize animal waste and agric residues produced from about 300 million assorted animals in 2009 and 72 million hectares of agricultural land, respectively.

Nigeria is also endowed with deposits of uranium ore in the North Eastern States as well as in Cross River State. Uranium is a radioactive element whose fission in a nuclear reactor produces very high pressure and temperature steam for expansion in a Rankine Cycle turbine for power generation.

The fossil energy resources, some of which are initially processed to by-products and whose energy is in the chemical form, can be combusted directly in a combustion chamber of a heat engine or plant, where mechanical shaft power is produced through Otto, Diesel or Brayton cycles; for driving an electric generator, which in turn produces electricity. Alternatively, fossil fuels can be combusted in boilers, where vapour at high temperature and pressure is generated and expanded in turbines, and mechanical shaft power is produced through a Rankine cycle, to drive electric generators, which produce electricity.

Solar energy can be directly transformed into direct current (dc) electricity through photovoltaic process, in solar cells, for use in dc loads. The direct current (dc) may then be inverted to alternating

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current (ac) for use in a.c. loads. Solar energy can also be transformed first into heat energy, using a solar thermal collector, from where vapour can be raised at high temperature and pressure; expanded in a turbine in a Rankine cycle, and the mechanical power produced is used to drive an electric generator.

Hydropower is potential energy of water converted to mechanical shaft power, through a water turbine, which in turn drives an electric generator.

Source: Solar GIS

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Wind is a moving mass of air arising from the earth’s differential heating, which produces pressure differences. Wind, therefore, is kinetic energy, which when harnessed through a wind turbine, produces mechanical shaft power which in turn drives an electric generator to produce electricity. The mechanical shaft power from windmills can also be used for such motive power needs as water pumping or grinding of grains.

Biomass, which refers to non-fossil bio-degradable organic matter and whose energy is in the chemical form, can be combusted directly, converting its chemical energy into heat energy in a boiler. High pressure vapour can then be raised and expanded in a turbine through a Rankine cycle to produce mechanical power for electricity generation. Biomass may be converted to liquid fuels like biodiesel, through biomass-to-liquid (BTL) process like the Fischer-Tropsch process. Biodiesel can be used in place of mineral diesel in power plants and in the transport sector. Biomass may also be gasified through the processes of pyrolysis or anaerobic digestion to produce lower molecular weight hydro carbon gases as fuel.

It should be pointed out that renewable energy (RE) refers to sources of energy that are available in cyclic or periodic basis and are available for mankind to use as they are inexhaustible. They include solar, hydro, biomass/biofuels and wind. Others belonging

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to the RE classification include geothermal, ocean thermal and wave energy.

On the otherhand, fossil fuels are exhaustible and no matter the quantities of their reserves they will be exhausted depending on the consumption rates. That is why RE technologies are greatly preferred in fashioning sustainable development pathways for all nations. In addition RE utilization does not create global warming and their use requires minimal maintenance attention. Additionally, they are available in-situ and do not need to be transported to the points of use.

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3. Current trends in the Use of Renewable Energy Technologies in Nigeria

3.1Solar EnergyNigeria lies within a high sunshine belt and thus has enormous solar energy potentials. The mean annual average of total solar radiation varies from about 3.5 kWhm–2day-1 in the coastal latitudes to about 7 kWhm–2day-1 along the semi-arid areas in the far North. On the average, the country receives solar radiation at the level of about 19.8 MJm –2 day-1. Average sunshine hours are estimated at 6hrs per day. Solar radiation is fairly well distributed. The minimum average is about 3.55 kWhm–2day-1 in Katsina in January and 3.4 kWhm–2day-1 for Calabar in August and the maximum average is 8.0 kWhm–2day-1 for Nguru in May.

Given an average solar radiation level of about 5.5 kWhm–2day-1, and the prevailing efficiencies of commercial solar-electric generators, then if solar collectors or modules were used to cover 1% of Nigeria’s land area of 923,773km2, it is possible to generate 1,850,000GWh of solar electricity per year. This is over one hundred times the current grid electricity consumption level in the country.

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Solar thermal applications, for which technologies are already developed in Nigeria, include: solar cooking, solar water heating for industries, hospitals and households, solar evaporative cooling, solar crop drying, solar incubators and solar chick brooding.

Solar PV Water Pumping at Birjingo Village, Goronyo LG, Sokoto State

A Solar Dryer Installed in Danjawa Renewable Energy Model Village, Sokoto

A 2-Tonnes Solar Dryer Insalled at NAPRI, Zaria, Kaduna State

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Solar electricity may be used for power supply to remote villages and locations not connected to the national grid. It may also be used to generate power for feeding into the national grid. Other areas of application of solar electricity include low and medium power application such as: water pumping, village electrification, rural clinic and schools power supply, vaccine refrigeration, traffic lighting and lighting of road signs, etc. Several pilot projects, surveys and studies have been undertaken by the Sokoto Energy Research Centre (SERC) and the National Centre for Energy Research and Development (NCERD) under the supervision of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN). Several PV-water pumping, electrification, and solar-thermal installations have been put in place.

Title: Solar PV Electrification

Location:Kwakwalawa Village , Wamakko LG, Sokoto State

Capacity: 7.2 kW Cost: N5 Million Year: 1993 Objective: Provision

of Electricity Sponsor: SERC/ECN Beneficiary:

Kwalkwala community

Tiltle: Solar PV Powered Repeater Station

Location:Gwadabawa town, Gwadabawa LG, Sokoto State

Capacity: 5 kW Cost: N4 Million Year: 1989 Objective: Provision

of Electricity to the Repeater Station

Sponsor: SERC Beneficiary: NITEL

Parabolic Solar Cooker -II A Solar Chick Brooder Developed by NCERD

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Battery Bank A 10kW Solar PV Module in Danjawa Model Solar Power Village, Sokoto

In recent times two bold attempts at the local production of photovoltaic solar panels have been made. The first is the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure’s (NASENI) Plant at Karshi, Abuja and the second is that of the Sokoto Energy Centre (SERC) at Usumanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS).

The NASENI’s plant situated at Karshi, Abuja is rated at 7.5 MW per annum and is stocked with semi-knocked down materials capable of producing more than 600 units of solar panels of 175 Watts capacity. Panels of 190, 180 and 70 Watts are also produced. The plant uses single crystals of Amorphous Silicon and has the following components: Sorters and testers; Laser scriber; Glass washing machine; Soldering table; Trolleys; EVA cutter; Framing

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machine; Laminator and Sun laminator. The first phase of the project was started in 2009 and completed in 2011.

The solar photovoltaic manufacturing line acquired by the SERC is rated at 4 MW per annum expandable to 10 MW and was procured as a part of a Science and Technology Post-Basic (STEP-B) Project that was started at the beginning of 2012 to upgrade the Research Centre to a Centre of excellence on renewable energy. The SERC’s PV plant is also based on Amorphous Silicon and the production process is similar to that of NASENI and the modules production process ensures operation at the relatively high temperatures of the tropics without any noticeable degradation.

3.2Small Hydropower (SHP) Development in Nigeria

Rural electrification is given high priority in government’s efforts to increase the standard of living in rural areas, reduce rural-urban migration trends, and realize other development objectives. However, the three key challenges for rural electrification are:a. how to provide sustainable energy (electricity) services to the poorest of the poor, who have no purchasing power to pay for the services.b. how to offer the most cost-effective, clean and reliable electricity to those who are currently spending a significant share of their income on energy.c. how to set up the commercial infrastructure to provide these services.

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In Nigeria, where rivers, waterfalls and streams with high potentials for SHP development is abundant, harnessing of these hydro-resources leads to decentralized use and local implementation and management, thereby making sustainable rural development possible through self-reliance and the use of local natural resources. This can be the most affordable and accessible option to provide off-grid electricity services. Based on Nigeria’s level of hydropower development, small hydropower station is defined as follows: Small = installed capacity of between 2 MW and 10 MW; Mini ≤ 2 MW; Micro ≤100 kW. In recent studies carried out in twelve states and four (4) river basins, over 278 unexploited SHP sites with total potentials of 734.3 MW were identified. However, SHP potential sites exist in virtually all parts of Nigeria with an estimated capacity of 3,500 MW.

A Small Hydro- Power Station, showing Different Sections

Recent initiatives by the ECN have focused on creating awareness among Nigerians on the huge SHP potentials of the country. Several workshops have been held. In November 2002, the ECN, in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development

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Organization (UNIDO) and other relevant government agencies and ministries organised a National Stakeholders Forum on Renewable Energy Technologies specifically for SHP for rural industrialization. The objective was to formulate strategies to provide access to clean and reliable energy services to the rural populace for promoting rural industrialization, which in turn will lead to employment generation and rural development. During the Forum, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between ECN and UNIDO – IC-SHP, Hangzhou, China, for further cooperation in tapping the currently identified potential of 734.2 MW of SHP through technical assistance, training and establishment of demonstration projects. Thus, the framework for training of trainers in SHP was put in place in 2003 in conjunction with IN-SHP and UNIDO.

Pre-feasibility studies and reports had already been prepared for 12 identified sites and are awaiting investments. Further to preliminary selection of the possible sites, socio-economic and load surveys were carried out in the beneficiary communities with assistance from ECN and the respective River Basin Development Authorities. A private company, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) and the government have installed eight (8) SHP stations with aggregate capacity of 37.0 MW in Nigeria. Most of these stations are found around Jos, where a 2 MW station at Kwall Falls on the river Kaduna and an 8 MW station at Kurra Falls are located. These stations were developed more than 80 years ago.

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3.3 The Status of Biomass Energy in Nigeria

Biomass refers to energy derivable from sources of plant origin such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops and their derivatives, as well as animal wastes. As an energy resource, biomass may be used as solid fuel, or converted via a variety of technologies to liquid or gaseous forms for the generation of electric power, heat or fuel for motive power. Biomass resources are considered renewable as they are naturally occurring and when properly managed, may be harvested without significant depletion. Biomass resources available in the country include: fuelwood, agricultural waste and crop residue, sawdust and wood shavings, animal dung/poultry droppings, industrial effluents/municipal solid waste.

The availability of biomass resources follows the same pattern as the nation’s vegetation. The rain forest in the south generates the highest quantity of woody biomass while the guinea savannah vegetation of the north central region generates more crop residues than the Sudan and Sahel savannah zones. Industrial effluent such as sugar cane molasses is located with the processes with which they are associated. Municipal wastes are generated in the high-density urban areas.

Over the period 1989-2000, fuelwood and charcoal constituted between 32 and 40% of total primary energy consumption [ECN

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(2007)]. In year 2000, national demand was estimated to be 39 million tonnes of fuelwood. About 95% of the total fuelwood consumption was used in households for cooking and for cottage industrial activities, such as for processing cassava and oil seeds, which are closely related to household activities. A smaller proportion of the fuelwood and charcoal consumed was used in the services sector.

Children Collecting Fuelwood Use of Efficient Wood Stove for Cooking, by a Local Woman

About 350,000 hectares of forest and natural vegetation are lost annually due to various factors, by the beginning of the last decade, with a much lower afforestation rate of 50,000 hectares/yr. With the depleting natural wood reserves, women and children have to travel as far as six kilometres to collect wood, sometimes fresh trees are cut down and allowed to dry for harvest as fuelwood thus putting further pressure on the vegetation. Recent studies show that national demand for traditional energy (mostly fuelwood and charcoal) is 39 million tonnes per annum (about 37.4% of the

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total energy demand and the highest single share of all the energy forms). It is projected to increase to 91 million tons by 2030.

The deforestation rate is expected to similarly increase if no special programme is put in place to discourage the use of fuelwood, promote the use of its alternatives and replenish through deliberate afforestation and fuelwood lots. This has grave implications on sustainable environment, food security and the health of the low income households who depend on fuelwood. The strategic development in this regard is a two-prong approach of reducing consumption rate through promotion of more efficient wood stoves and deployment of alternatives to fuelwood through policy instrument and pilot demonstration of renewable energy projects.

The establishment of plantations of quick-growing tree species to provide fuelwood is being encouraged. At the same the active adoption of improved wood burning stoves of various configurations is being promoted. Under an integrated rural energy supply project, selected communities are assessed for renewable energy resources, energy requirement and available human resources, and an integrated energy supply system is then designed that utilizes the available renewable energy resources to supply the energy requirement. For sustainability, the local rural dwellers are trained to maintain the systems.

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The three-stone stove commonly used in the households have efficiencies as low as 15%. Improved versions have been developed locally by the ECN through its energy research centres at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Usumanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto. These stoves, which could reduce fuelwood consumption of up to 50%, are already being adopted. For instance the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) cottage cassava industry at Moniya, Ibadan had since been promoting these technologies. Indeed the improved wood-burning stoves are found in many local markets in the northwestern part of the country.

Stack of Wood Efficient Stoves Rural People in Use of Wood Efficient Stoves

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Various Designs of Efficient Stoves

Residues associated with agriculture either as on-the-farm crop wastes such as cornstalks or as processing waste such as rice husks, corn shells, palm kernel shells, cassava peels, etc., are also good sources of fuels. They are currently burned directly as starter or supplement material in addition to fuelwood. There are potentials for further processing for higher energy contents. There are, however, other competing demands for crop residues for feeding livestock and roofing thatched houses in the villages. Animal wastes (e.g., cow dung, poultry droppings and abattoir wastes) are also available at specific sites.

Biogas digester technology has been domesticated and a number of pilot biogas plants have been built. Considerable local capability exists for building both floating dome and fixed dome biodigesters using a variety of bioresources. Examples include a human waste biogas plant at the Zaria prison, cow dung based biogas plants at the Fodder farm of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Zaria and Mayflower Secondary School Ikenne, Ogun State; an 18m3 capacity pig waste biogas plant at the pigry farm of the Ojokoro/Ifelodun Cooperative Agricultural Multipurpose Society in Lagos State. A number of indigenous outfits are producing economically viable systems for converting municipal waste to energy.

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Sawdust and wood wastes are other important biomass resources associated with the lumber industry. Small particle biomass stoves already exist for burning sawdusts and wood shavings. Biomass utilization as energy resources is currently limited to thermal application as fuel for cooking, crop drying, tobacco curing, etc. Opportunities exist in power generation from biomass resources in the following: fuelwood lot, biogas generation/biofertilizer production, electricity generation from industrial effluents such as

Fixed dome Biogas digester at Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Ogun state

Dome Type Biogas Pilot Plant at Danjawa Village, Wamakko LG,

Sokoto State

Samples Of Household Biogas Digesters – NCERD, Nsukka

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bagasse and ethanol production. There is no existing biomass fired power plant in Nigeria and so no local experience. However, there is considerable experience in biogas generation and utilization of fine particle biomass. Opportunities also exist for briquetting of saw dust and other fine particle biomass.

In modern times the two major biofuels used widely all over the world are ethanol and biodiesel. The Nigerian Government has done well by appproving the National Biofuel Policy in 2007 which legitimised the blending of prime motor spirit (PMS or simply petrol) with ethanol on the one hand and automotive gas oil (AGO or simply diesel) with biodiesel on the other hand.

The National Energy Masterplan, produced by the National Committee on Energy Masterplan, advocated the production of the nation's biofuels from non-edible sources so that there will be no competition for agricultural products by food and energy. In this regard many groups in Nigeria have been working not on sugar cane for ethanol but more on plants that look more like elephant grass. For biodiesel the preferred plant is Jatropha which grows well even on marginal fields with little rainfall. An organised and sustainable production of ethanol and biodiesel for blending with PMS and AGO and for other uses will surely lead to a reduced local consumption of the nation's crude oil which will make the commodity more available for export.

3.4 Wind Energy

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Wind, which is an effect from the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun and its resultant pressure inequalities is available at annual average speeds of about 2.0 m/s at the coastal region and 4.0 m/s at the far northern region of the country. Assuming an air density of 1.1 kg/m3, wind energy intensity, perpendicular to the wind direction, ranges between 4.4 W/m2 at the coastal areas and 35.2 W/m2 at the far northern region.

Wind energy conversion systems (wind turbines, wind generators, wind plants, wind machines, and wind dynamos) are devices which convert the kinetic energy of the moving air to rotary motion of a shaft, that is, mechanical energy. The technologies for harnessing this energy have, over the years been tried in the northern parts of the country, mainly for water pumping from open wells in many secondary schools of old Sokoto and Kano States as well as in Katsina, Bauchi and Plateau States. A 5 kW wind electricity conversion system for village electrification has been installed at Sayya Gidan Gada, in Sokoto State.

5 kW Wind Power for Village Electrification, Sayyan Gidan Gada, Sokoto State built by SERC

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4k Wind Electricity Turbine Installed and Integrated with 10kW PV Plant

to Serve as Hybrid System

Other areas of potential application of wind energy conversion systems in Nigeria are in “green electricity” production for the rural community and for integration into the national grid system. It has been reported that an average annual wind speed of not less than 5 m/s at a height of 10m above ground level is the feasible speed for the exploitation of wind energy at today’s cost. Tractors and Equipment (T & E), a Division of the United African Company (UAC), at one time, produced windmills in Nigeria. Promising attempts are being made in Sokoto Energy Research Centre (SERC) and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, to develop capability for the production of wind energy technologies.

4. Barriers to the Large-Scale Penetration of Renewable Energy Technologies in Nigeria

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In spite of the wide extent of the availability of Renewable Energy resources in Nigeria and the seemingly large number of applications the level of utilization falls far short of the quantum for meaningful economic growth that will require, for example, thousands of Megawatts of electricity from solar photovoltaics and wind electricity conversion systems. The key barriers that have to be done away with for this to happen, include:

4.1 Human and Infrastructural Capacity Limitations

The technical expertise to develop, deploy and manage renewable energy is inadequate, and worst still, is not relied upon in the country as expertise is often sourced from outside the country. The infrastructure for the manufacture of components of renewable energy systems is

not available in the country. Supply of the systems and components that one sees in the country today is, thus, dependent on imports.

4.2 Lack of Financial and Fiscal Incentives

Financial and fiscal incentives are not available to fast-track the development of the supply and demand sides of the RE energy market and especially for electrical components. This contrasts

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sharply with the practice in such countries like Germany, Spain, China and India that have adopted a variety of financial and incentives that have succeeded in growing their respective RE markets and industries.

4.3 Lack of Adequate Awareness of the Significance of RE Technologies

Although the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and the Energy Research Centres under its supervision have been popularizing the importance of RE technologies, a large proportion of Nigerians is not aware that RE has a lot to offer in the provision of the energy needs for socio-economic progress of the country and most specially in the rural areas.

4.4 Inadequate RE Data for Planning and Taking Investment Decisions

On the whole the nation lacks a fully reliable RE resource database to assist in the design, construction and monitoring of RE technologies in all the geographic sub-regions of the country. Also such data, which are essential in taking investment decisions and in particular for the electricity industry, is absent.

4.5 Intermittency of RE Resources

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All RE based electricity generation systems produce intermittent or cyclic outputs. The challenge to this global problem is the development of energy storage and system management during periods of lack of resource and this adds to the complexity of the systems.

4.6 High Initial Investment Costs

RE electricity systems have higher initial cost when compared with the capital cost of conventional systems. This is also receiving international attention in advanced countries where very serious R &D activities are already sharply bringing down the cost figures.

4.7 Inadequate Policy and Administrative Frameworks

All the nations that achieved great strides in the large scale utilization of RE technologies have done so by upgrading their RE policies into a number of laws including what is universally referred to as the feed-in-tariff which gives preference to renewable energy generated electricity. In Nigeria today we are far from such increasing global practice. Also there are too many Ministries, Departments and Agencies all implementing RE projects in a highly unco-ordinated manner.

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5. The Way Forward

The large-scale deployment of Renewable Energy technologies in such a manner that will enable the supply of thousands of Megawatts of renewable energy generated electricity in a sustainable manner in which the resources will never be exhausted and which will not have any harmful impact on the environment will require:

5.1 Strengthening of Human and Infrastructural Capacities

Areas of specialization in the development of renewable energy competencies and skills should be accorded prominence in the National Energy Manpower Plan. This is to cover the entire value chain in the production of electricity, heating fuels and transport fuels from renewable sources. Likewise the productive capacities for the manufacturing of components of RE systems should be made a key provision of the industrial development plans of the country.

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5.2 Financial and Fiscal Incentives

There is the urgent need to provide for a Renewable Energy Development Fund to kick-start the RE Revolution and serve as the instrument for providing incentives to local manufacturers, suppliers and users of RE electricity. It should also serve as the means to support the feed-in-tariff as a practical support mechanism for RE electricity.

5.3 Awareness Creation

Worldwide, new technologies, after research and development, are demonstrated and subsequently diffused into the various national economies. Here in Nigeria we cannot be left out and so funds should be provided for more demonstration (or Pilot) projects and for diffusion activities. Invariably, the agencies working on RE technologies will have to establish more pilot schemes and participate in as many exhibitions and trade fairs as possible in order to ensure an increasing effort to show-case their outputs to the Nigerian people.

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5.4 Development of a Comprehensive RE Database

Just like the Federal Government arranged the production of a digital wind map for the entire country there is the urgent need for the production of such comprehensive databases for solar radiation, small and large hydropower potentials as well as for the biomass/biofuels estimates. These comprehensive estimates should form a major section of the Nigeria’s National Energy Databank. This will then serve as the essential tool for planning, designing and development of RE supply systems.

5.5 Twinning of RE projects and High Cost of theRE Technologies

Global efforts for addressing the intermittency of RE supplies are directed towards the development of more and more effective storage systems including deep discharge storage batteries. A pragmatic approach adopted by many nations is the use of two or three energy systems together. This could be a “twin” arrangement of solar and wind energy systems wired to the same sub-station. Other arrangements could also combine solar with biofuels etc.

Again global efforts are bringing the cost of RE systems down and this together with the fact that the RE systems require minimal

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maintenance and no input fuels have already started making RE supplies competitive in a number of applications.

5.6 Policy and Administrative Frameworks

The fact that in Nigeria energy related laws are only for electrical power and for oil and gas with nothing for the renewables is a major factor that has stunted the growth of the renewables in the country. There is therefore the urgent need to pass both the National Energy Policy and the National Renewable Energy

Masterplan into law. In this way all the cross-cutting issues will be ironed out and RE technologies will automatically take their rightful places in the national economy.

There is also the need to harmonize RE activities in the country and not to leave things as they are with many Ministries, Departments and Agencies carrying out related RE projects in an unnecessary disparate manner. In this regard there is the need to either create a National Renewable Energy Commission (NREC) or to amend the law of the Energy Commission of Nigeria to become the NREC.

6. Conclusion

Nigeria has abundant renewable energy resources of solar, hydro, biomass/biofuels and wind. Their current small-scale use in pilot or demonstration projects cannot lead to significant economic growth

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unless they are deployed on a large scale. For this to happen there is need for the passage of the National Energy Policy and the National Energy Masterplan into law as well as the setting aside of funds that will be used to incentivize the use of Renewable Energy and to domesticate their technologies in the country.

If this is done then the nation will be on a sustainable development pathway as RE resources are inexhaustible and do not contribute to the global warming issues associated with fossil fuels. In this way the nation will stand a better chance of succeeding in Mr President’s Transformation Agenda and becoming one of the top twenty countries by 2020.

7. REFERENCES

1. Sambo, A. S. (2009). “Sustainable Energy Development in Nigeria: Status, Issues and the Way Forward for the Power Sub-Sector”, Pre-Convocation Lecture Delivered at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Friday 20th March, 2009.

2. Energy Commission of Nigeria. (2007). Draft National Energy Masterplan

3. Energy Commission of Nigeria. (2005). National Energy Policy

4. Sambo, A. S. (2007). “Renewable Energy Masterplan for Nigeria: An Assessment”. Paper presented to participants of Senior Executive Course No. 29, 2007 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos on Monday, 16th April, 2007

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5. Sambo, A. S. (2010). “Electricity Generation for Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Status and the Way Forward”. Lecture Delivered to Participants of Exec. Intelligence Management Course 3, Institute for Security Studies, Abuja, 5thAugust, 2010.

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