Nigerians are turning to solar as population increases

Africa’s most populous country needs more than 10 times its current electricity output to guarantee supply for its 198 million people – nearly half of whom have no access at all, according to power minister Babatunde Fashola.

Ready access to electricity will to a very large extent reduce youth unemployment and increase productivity,” Ifeoma Malo, Nigeria country director at the global campaign group Power For All, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“It will contribute greatly to reducing the carbon footprint of growing energy demand by the urban population.”

Nigeria has set a target of expanding electricity access to 75 percent of the population by 2020 and 90 percent by 2030.

It aims to generate 30 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030, Fashola said in a recent speech in London, a major commitment to an economy that depends heavily on fossil fuels.

Oil and gas production account for around 35 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product and about 90 percent of total export revenue, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Over the past year, the country has invested more than $20 billion in solar power projects, seeking to boost the capacity of the national grid and reduce reliance on it by building mini-grids in rural areas without mains electricity.

Frequent Power cuts demand in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos vastly outstrips supply, meaning its 25 million residents must either go without or rely on expensive, fume-belching generators.

In January the country suffered six power outages in just eight days as the national grid repeatedly collapsed under the strain, plunging most of the country into darkness.

Urbanization and rapid population growth will only add to the problem – Nigeria’s population is projected to swell from 198 to 411 million by 2050, and more and more people are moving to its cities.

By the start of 2020, the demand for energy is forecast to be more than double its early 2018 levels.

Nigeria currently has the capacity to produce an estimated 7,000 megawatts (MW) of power, but due to weak infrastructure, gas supply problems and water shortages only about 4,000 MW reaches the national grid, according to Fashola.

The government is investing in hydropower, with several projects close to completion.

The largest is the Mambilla Power Station in central Nigeria, a $5.79 billion project due to be completed in 2024 with most of the financing coming from Chinese lenders.

It will be able to generate 3,050 MW of renewable energy in the rural region and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Given the country’s climate though, most of the focus is on generating solar power.

A $350 million World Bank loan will be used to build 10,000 solar-powered mini-grids by 2023 in rural areas, bringing power to hospitals, schools, and households, said Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency.

 

Source: Reuter’s standard principle.