Alternative power sources and Nigeria’s power challenge

May 24, 2014

A power transmission facility

Nigeria’s 170 million people depend on nine hydro and thermal power stations that currently produce about 4,000 megawatts.

According to a commodities-now.com analysis, 1MW of electricity would power 900 homes for one year when usage is low but would only power 400 when usage is high.

The Special Assistant to the Minister of Power on Communications, Ms. Kande Daniel, recently said that power generation in the country had increased to about 4,100MW from the average of 3,000 when the Power Holding Company of Nigeria was handed over to private investors.

To put this in perspective, Nigeria currently produces power barely enough to power 3.6 million homes (about 2.1 per cent of its population) for a year.

With this at the back of one’s mind, one would understand why the agony about power supply may likely continue until a substantial empowerment in power generation capacity is achieved.

However, nuclear, solar, wind and biogas are renewable energy sources which many experts over the years have put forward as veritable ways through which the country can solve its power supply problem.

In 2003, the Federal Government approved renewable energy as part of its national energy policy. But if anything is being done in this direction, Nigerians are still not benefitting from it.

Germany, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, generates 9,785MW of electricity through solar energy. Spain which trails behind it on the list of the countries with the most usage of solar energy, generates 3,386MW of its electricity through this source – an amount which almost equals Nigeria’s overall generating capacity.

In a paper jointly presented by Dr. P.A. Ilenikhena of the Department of Physics, University of Benin and Dr. L.I.N Ezemonye of the National Centre for Energy and Environment of the same university on the solar energy application in Nigeria, the duo observed that solar radiation, which is abundant in the country, is one area of focus among the renewable energy resources.

They however, regretted that the technologies for solar energy application are not yet accepted as household commodities in the country.

Wind energy, which is clean and environment-friendly is used in 83 countries as of 2011.