Nigeria’s Power Reforms: Good News for Solar?

By Lanre Okanlawon

One of the best things happening to the power sector in Nigeria is the ongoing power sector reforms. Initially conceived by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in August, 2000 and currently midwifed by President Goodluck Jonathan, the economic importance of reforming Nigeria’s power sector cannot be understated.

According to Power Minister, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Nigeria seeks to provide quality and sustainable electricity supply to a good number of citizenry and is prepared to take in support from around the world towards revamping her power sector using various power technologies available. With this assertion, coupled with recent milestones achieved with regards to the reform’s road map, there seems to be an atom of hope for Africa’s most populous country after so many decades of erratic supplies and incessant power outages.

With a population of over 160 million people and a strong contender to take the number one spot as Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria’s current move to overhaul its power sector is seen by all as a step in the right direction. Developing countries like Nigeria require very large scale investments in their power sector to boost economic activities and improve living standards. But this level of investment is rarely provided by the public sector, hence the need for privatization and changes from business as usual.

For many years, Nigeria’s power sector has relied heavily on hydro-electric power resources and gas-fired thermal stations. Even despite having one of the world’s largest gas reserves, Nigeria has not been able to solve its power plague. According to the 66 page Power Reforms Roadmap document released by the Presidential Task Force on Power in August 2013 , “Nigeria has abundant renewable energy sources that should be exploited for energy security“.

In a world where every developed nation is obsessed with becoming more energy secured and independent, it is imperative that a more diversified and vibrant energy market needs to be created for Nigeria to attain its self acclaimed status. An evident power option for diversification, putting in mind recent technological advances, crashing prices and abundance of resource in developing countries like Nigeria, is solar energy. Tropical locations like Nigeria experience more than 330 days of sunshine for over 10 hours daily. Large scale solar farms could provide electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses as currently in operation in some countries like Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, China, Spain, France, Belgium, Australia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, India and South Africa. Last year, Germany actually surpassed 30 Gigawatt of installed solar capacity in terms of electricity generation; the highest in the world.

Germany does not have as much sunlight as any country in Africa but it has been able to achieve this feat as a result of political will and the right mind-set and approach by acknowledging the fact that the solution to any country’s power predicament does not solely lie in any one particular energy resource but in the use of different power resources readily available in a sustainable and cost effective way.

With Nigeria’s enormous gas reserves, hydro-electric dams, abundant solar resource and fiscal wealth, more power plants can be built to augment existing ones to provide additional power to enhance trade, local industries and the overall socio-economic wellbeing of the nation.

There are also some regions with very unusual circumstances as they are not connected to the national grid, leaving distributed solar generation as one of their only plausible choices. Such localities should not be left out.

Over the years, the global power industry has witnessed significant developments and improvements in solar technologies which have inevitably resulted into more efficient and cheaper solar technology components; ranging from solar panels to inverters and solar charge controllers to even storage batteries. Prices of solar cells (which make up a solar panel) have crashed from $23.00/watt in 1980 to £0.50/watt in 2013, a staggering 98% decrease in price.

Apart from supplementing electricity generation, the emergence of a thriving solar power market in Nigeria will reduce the current burden on existing gas transmission facilities, stimulate job creation and increase regional trade within the continent.

With promising economic forecasts on Nigeria by prominent global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sustained efforts by the government, policy makers and other stakeholders will be required to achieve sustainable electricity generation and its subsequent delivery. Partnering with the international community, engaging foreign and local power experts and creating constructive and stimulating energy policies for solar power such as the Feed-in-Tariffs, Renewable Obligation Certificates and tax breaks and incentives will definitely spur the government’s power diversification agenda.

The African Energy Mix: Adopting Renewables

It is no secret that there is an ongoing energy revolution taking place worldwide. Many countries are making conscious efforts in becoming more energy independent and sustainable. In achieving this, all energy options are being considered and in the past ten years, renewable energy sources have been the most prominent. The rationale for any country seeking to be energy independent is clear; to reduce exposure to unreliable energy imports and attain a state of energy security. The technicalities of achieving these are unlimited but often intricate.

Africa’s energy climate has been perpetually described as appalling. The continent’s progress of energy development has varied widely for several years. Very few countries have recorded significant successes while most have stagnated or deteriorated. This has been attributed majorly to lack of policy implementation, incompetent human capital and corruption. In a recent energy fact sheet released by the World Bank, 24 of Africa’s 54 countries are described to be in energy crisis situations. Most other African countries lack even basic power facilities adequate to cater for their citizens. Today, power is erratic, inaccessible and widely pricey for many in Africa. This has been partly responsible for the low standard of living and hardship the continent faces.

So what is Africa’s current energy mix? Fossil fuel based power generation is the sole largest electricity generation in Africa contributing about 60 percent of the continent’s electricity supply. Hydropower and coal are the other major energy sources making up about 32 percent and 7 percent respectively. These resources present a huge challenge to the continent as they are not evenly distributed and are limited. As a result, most African countries are significantly vulnerable to supply uncertainties. Without energy security and the appropriate mix of energy sources, most countries in Africa risk disappointing investors as well as their own citizens.

As you may agree, the ultimate solution to any country’s energy problem is not necessarily from a single energy source, but instead, a combination of several sources to achieve efficient, reliable and sustainable energy generation to distribution processes while preserving the environment. Africa is endowed with a broad range of renewable energy resources ranging from wind and solar to geothermal and hydropower. Other sources such as biomass, tidal and wave energy are also very valid clean energy sources.

The good news is that in all of these, there is a genuine opportunity for investors, African policy makers, governments and other stakeholders to turn this menace around for the better. Based on data from Bloomberg new energy finance, there is a new trend in global renewable energy investments. Renewable energy investors are gradually shifting to developing countries as financiers seek for viable opportunities in regions with broad, underdeveloped portfolios of green energy resources. Africa’s renewable energy sources are very many and are evenly distributed in large amounts. The continent is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the west, which possess vast ocean winds and currents. Solar energy on its own is undoubtedly the chief clean energy source available. Another largely untapped, freely occurring renewable energy source is geothermal (ground source heat) in eastern Africa. South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Kenya are some of the few countries that have identified these potentials and have taken commendable steps to creating enabling environments for renewable energy initiatives. Their new approach to energy development has galvanized their economies and attracted foreign investors.

In the last couple of months, South Africa’s renewable energy market witnessed an optimistic outlook as it ramped up another gear. RustMo1, a 7-MW solar photovoltaic power generating facility, is scheduled to commence power generation in November 2013. Also, Google Inc. announced its first renewable energy project in Africa — the Jasper Power Project, a solar energy project in South Africa.

Also, Egypt and Morocco have actively reformed their electricity sectors by creating energy policies to encourage renewable energy investments in power generation. They have also set modest targets to be met in the near future. Crucial laws have been passed by their respective parliaments to create competitive energy markets and attract domestic and foreign investors.

This has unquestionably boosted wind, solar and hydropower projects in these northern African countries. Morocco has an ambitious renewable energy programme seeking to generate more than 40 percent of its energy from renewables. At the moment, Morocco has seven completed wind farms, the largest of which is the 140-MW Tanger Farm.

Moving over to the east, a significant amount of Kenya’s electricity generation is from geothermal sources via two power plants; Olkaria I (45 MW) and Olkaria II (65 MW). As Africa’s pioneer geothermal nation, Kenya has exploited the vast ground source heat from the Great Rift Valley of east Africa. The geothermal plants supplement the overall energy generated from Kenya’s hydropower stations, a petroleum-fired plant and imported electricity from Uganda.

The adoption of renewable energy in Africa proffers a huge opportunity to improve socio-economic indices and living standards. Better access to electricity will also go a long way to reduce poverty and ensure environmental sustainability. In many parts of Africa, millions live kilometres away from developed towns and cities and are not connected to the grid. Renewable energy sources provide clean energy alternatives in such cases for the provision of off-grid electricity supplies to less privileged people in very remote areas. Also, the urban population growth being witnessed in many African cities poses a great challenge on existing electricity infrastructures. This can be enhanced by including renewable resources. In the words of United Nations’ Environment Program Executive Director, Achim Steiner, “the uptake of renewable energies continues worldwide as countries, companies and communities seize the linkages between low-carbon green economies and a future of energy access and security.”

Strong economies all over the world are highly dependent on accessible, reliable and affordable electricity supplies. One of the obvious ways that Africa can achieve global competitiveness is to significantly provide electricity access as a very clear relationship exists between economic activity and electricity use. Africa’s future prosperity requires a change from the status quo; a deviation from the current total reliance on conventional energy sources.

Written by Lanre Okanlawon as published in African Business Review Magazine (July/August Edition).

Nigeria: Renewable Energy Opportunities Blossoming

By Lanre Okanlawon

Just like any country, Nigeria in the 21st century faces enormous challenges, and one of its most crucial is power. Nigeria has been confronted with incessant electricity problems ranging from power generation to its transmission and distribution. The main sources of its electricity are gas and hydropower, but for many decades, homes, businesses and industries have faced the huge challenges when accessing electricity.

Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world and by the end of 2013 its population will hit 170 million, according to the National Population Commission — but 60 percent of Nigeria’s population have no access to electricity, according to Nigeria’s Infrastructural Concession Regulatory Commission.

In most countries that have experienced similar setbacks, the ultimate solution has not been from a single source of energy, but the culmination of several. As an advocate of renewable energy, it is really great to see governments all over the world including green sources of energy in their mix. These actions have predictably increased their respective Total Electricity Installed Capacity (TEIC). Several projects have been proposed with the aim of increasing the TEIC of the country, which currently stands at about 6,000 MW. Recent proposals include the development of new hydropower plants in Mambilla (3,050 MW) and Zungeru (700 MW) and a 10-MW wind farm in Katsina.

The following are the TEICs of nine countries and their respective estimated populations as at the end of 2010; United States (1,000,000 MW, 315 million), Argentina (32,000 MW, 40 million), Venezuela (23,000 MW, 29 million), Poland (33,000 MW, 38 million), United Kingdom (93,000 MW, 64 million), South Africa (44,000 MW, 51 million), Morocco (6,000 MW, 32 million), Egypt (27,000 MW, 83 million), Libya (6,000 MW, 6 million). A quick glance at these figures compared to Nigeria’s (6,000 MW, 170 million) shows an urgent need for melioration, and one common feature that cuts across most of the above listed countries is the adoption of renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy investors are currently looking for investment opportunities in Nigeria after the country was ranked one of the four top investment destinations and growth areas in the world by a leading global audit, finance and tax advisory firm KPMG in March 2013. Understandably, many private investors are not willing to take part in this paradigm, which is being championed by their counterparts in developed countries. There is a measurable amount of risk due to political and economic uncertainties in the nation just like in other parts of Africa.

It is at this juncture that the government should step in and promote this revolution by creating and enabling a sound investment environment and favourable policies to guarantee financial rewards like tax exemptions and renewable energy credits. The benefits of generating more electricity from solar, wind, hydropower and biomass in Nigeria are numerous. The most apparent are the creation of millions of jobs, increased incomes, economic growth and (of course) more stable power supply.

Nigeria, Energy Poverty and Renewable Energy

By `Lanre Okanlawon

Nigeria’s decision to attain 7 percent renewable energy use by 2025 has been tagged to be a very proactive commitment. An important fact to note is that more than 60 percent of the nation’s population is not connected to the national grid and the remaining population can only boast of epileptic power supply. 

Apart from the ill state of existing generation, distribution and supply network in Africa’s most populous country and second largest economy, decades of ineffective institutional framework and appropriate policies have been responsible for the increasing levels of energy poverty. So many questions remain unanswered as it becomes clearer day by day that Nigeria is under-performing in terms of the provision of power security to its 160 million people. To further unlock the nation’s economical and industrial potentials and attract more foreign investments, new scientific breakthroughs in efficiency and delivery of alternative energy technologies have to be taken advantage of. 

The country’s present over-dependence on gas fired generation plants has resulted in supply disruptions in times of gas shortages which are very common occurrences. The need for alternative power generation options cannot be overstated considering the country’s current demand for power. In 2011, Nigeria emerged as the country with the largest gap between demand and supply of electricity in the world according to a progress report submitted by the country’s presidential task force committee on power reforms. This is definitely inadequate to stimulate economic growth. 

Nigeria’s abundant renewable energy resources led by solar energy, biomass and wind energy have been largely neglected and it’s high time these were actively employed to provide the necessary power generation levels. Nigeria’s power demand is reported to grow at a rate of 8.2 percent annually. Any additional generation sources with economical justifications should be highly considered. 

Nigeria is faced with an enormous task; the need for greater electricity supply with improved grid reliability and security. Energy poverty is never synonymous with any form of national development. Nigeria definitely has plenty of work to be done in this regard as it takes more than making upbeat pronouncements to be among the top 20 nations in the world by the year 2020.

Solar-powered office building, Doxford International Business Park, near Sunderland, United Kingdom. 

The 3500sqm solar office building at the Doxford International Business Park near Sunderland, UK incorporates 646sqm of photovoltaic modules. These have a peak power output of 73kW and generate some 55,000kWh of electricity per year. The building is well insulated and uses passive solar design to maximise the use of natural daylight and to minimise space heating and air conditioning needs. it is also designed for natural ventilation and night-time cooling.

Photovoltaics may well make a significant contribution to world needs in coming decades, but at present its share of world consumption is small. This is mainly due to the very high cost of PV modules, which are currently produced in relatively small quantities. Studies have shown that if the annual output of the manufacturing plants that produce PV modules were increased by a factor of about 20, the cost of PV-generated electricity could be reduced to a point at which it would be competitive with electricity from conventional sources in many industrialised countries.

Liquid Air Could Be The Fuel Of The Future

By Admin

Imagine owning a car that runs on air. Impossible, you reckon? Think again. The car in the video below does exactly this.

Scientists in Britain are developing a new technology that uses normal air to store energy by reducing its temperature to as low as minus 190 degrees Celsius turning it into liquid air. 

This is definitely good news especially with the ever increasing costs of fuel and environmental pollution issues associated with fossil fuels.

Sources: YouTube, Sky News

Chanel Invokes Green Energy of Fashion

By 'Lanre Okanlawon

Echoes of renewable energy were constantly heard earlier today in Grand Palais, Paris as Chanel sent her gorgeous fashion models on a blue solar panel pattern runway surrounded by towering white wind turbines at its new spring-summer look. 

Chanel Spring/Summer 2013

Karl Lagerfeld welcomed fashion enthusiasts, including Jennifer Lopez and her daughter, Emme to the grand show. “Energy is the most important thing in life”, he said enthusiastically, commenting about solar panels and wind turbines. If I had to build a house, I would put them in the garden,” he concluded.