Nigeria could benefit from the targeted interventions that would reduce the local air pollution and help the country to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Many factors that need to be considered and appropriately addressed in the shift to its sustainable energy future are examined in this article. These include a full exploitation and promotion of renewable energy resources, energy efficiency practices, as well as the application of energy conservation measures in various sectors such as in the construction of industrial, residential, and office buildings, in transportation, etc.
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Moreover, according to the Central Bank estimate in 1985, Nigeria consumed 8,771,863 tonnes of oil equivalent[5]. This is equal to about 180,000 barrels of oil per day. Since then, oil consumption in Nigeria has drastically increased. The effect of this increase on the economy relying solely on revenue from oil is tremendous. Also, the Department for Petroleum Resources[6] reported an amount of petroleum of more than 78% of the total energy consumption in Nigeria. In the present predicament as a nation, it is obvious that depending mainly on fossil fuel (petroleum) is not enough to meet the energy needs of the country. Since Nigeria is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources such as hydroelectric, solar, wind, tidal, and biomass, there is a need to harness these resources and chart a new energy future for Nigeria. In this regard, the government has a responsibility to make renewable energy available and affordable to all.
The prime objectives of this paper are (1) to review the current status of the energy resources, the energy demand, and supply in Nigeria and (2) to explore the prospects of utilizing renewable energy resources and to increase the energy efficiency as a possible means of sustainable development in Nigeria.
Nigeria is Africa's energy giant. It is the continent's most prolific oil-producing country, which, along with Libya, accounts for two-thirds of Africa's crude oil reserves. It ranks second to Algeria in natural gas[15]. Most of Africa's bitumen and lignite reserves are found in Nigeria. In its mix of conventional energy reserves, Nigeria is simply unmatched by any other country on the African continent. It is not surprising therefore that energy export is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Also, primary energy resources dominate the nation's industrial raw material endowment.
The rural areas, which are generally inaccessible due to the absence of good road networks, have little access to conventional energy such as electricity and petroleum products. Petroleum products such as kerosene and gasoline are purchased in the rural areas at prices 150% in excess of their official pump prices. The daily needs of the rural populace for heat energy are therefore met almost entirely from fuel wood. The sale of fuel wood and charcoal is mostly uncontrolled in the unorganized private sector. The sale of kerosene, electricity and cooking gas is essentially influenced and controlled by the Federal Government or its agencies - the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the case of kerosene and cooking gas, and the PHCN in the case of electricity. The policy of the Federal Government had been to subsidize the pricing of locally consumed petroleum products, including electricity. In a bid to make the petroleum downstream sector more efficient and in an attempt to stem petroleum product consumption as a policy focus, the government has reduced and removed subsidies on various energy resources in Nigeria. The various policy options have always engendered price increases of the products[20].
Meanwhile, electricity is required for such basic developmental services as pipe borne water, health care, telecommunications, and quality education. The poverty eradication and Universal Basic Education programs require energy for success. The absence of reliable energy supply has not only left the rural populace socially backward, but has also 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 increased penetration of renewables into the energy supply mix[15].
Energy consumption patterns in the world today shows that Nigeria and indeed African countries have the lowest rates of consumption. Nevertheless, Nigeria suffers from an inadequate supply of usable energy due to the rapidly increasing demand, which is typical of a developing economy. Paradoxically, the country is potentially endowed with sustainable energy resources. Nigeria is rich in conventional energy resources, which include oil, national gas, lignite, and coal. It is also well endowed with renewable energy sources such as wood, solar, hydropower, and wind[17].
The predominant energy resources for domestic and commercial uses in Nigeria are fuel wood, charcoal, kerosene, cooking gas and electricity[20]. Other sources, though less common, are sawdust, agricultural crop residues of corn stalk, cassava sticks, and, in extreme cases, cow dung. In Nigeria, among the urban dwellers, kerosene and gas are the major cooking fuels. The majority of the people rely on kerosene stoves for domestic cooking, while only a few use gas and electric cookers[23].
The rural areas have little access to conventional energy such as electricity and petroleum products due to the absence of good road networks. Petroleum products such as kerosene and gasoline are purchased in the rural areas at prices very high in excess of their official pump prices. The rural population, whose needs are often basic, therefore depends to a large extent on fuel wood as a major traditional source of fuel. It has been estimated that about 86% of rural households in Nigeria depend on fuel wood as their source of energy[24]. A fuel wood supply/demand imbalance in some parts of the country is now a real threat to the energy security of the rural communities[22].
The second dimension of Nigeria's energy crises is exemplified by such indicators as electricity blackouts, brownouts, and pervasive reliance on self-generated electricity. This development has occurred despite abundant energy resources in Nigeria. The electricity market, dominated on the supply side by the state-owned PHCN, formerly called NEPA, has been incapable of providing minimum acceptable international standards of electricity service reliability, accessibility, and availability for the past three decades[40]. The nature of this poor record in electricity supply is apparent in the trend in transmission and distribution losses shown in Figure2. The double-digit transmission and distribution losses are extremely large by international standards and are among the highest in the world. The system losses are five to six times higher than those in well-run power systems. The high level of power losses and the significant illegal access to the public power supply are indicative of the crisis in the industry.
They generally cause less environmental impact than other energy sources. The implementation of renewable energy technologies will help to address the environmental concerns that emerged due to greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), and particulate matters as a result of power generation from oil, natural gas, and coal. A variety of renewable energy resources provide a flexible array of options for their use.
They cannot be depleted. If used carefully in appropriate applications, renewable energy resources can provide a reliable and sustainable supply of energy almost indefinitely. In contrast, fossil fuel resources are diminished by extraction and consumption.
To seize the opportunities presented by renewable energy resources in sustainable development, Nigeria needs to establish renewable energy markets and gradually develop experience with renewable energy technologies. The barriers and constraints to the diffusion of renewable energy should be overcome. A legal, administrative, and financing infrastructure should be established to facilitate planning and application of renewable energy projects. Government must play a useful role in promoting renewable energy technologies by initiating surveys and studies to establish their potential in both urban and rural areas.
The resources are generally well distributed all over the world, even though wide spatial and temporal variations occur. Thus, all regions of the world have reasonable access to one or more forms of renewable energy supply.
Energy has also strong and important links to the environment. Many energy sources are drawn directly from the environment, requiring a sound management for these sources to be sustainable. Furthermore, energy use affects the environment. Emissions from fossil fuels, for example, reach beyond the local and national levels to affect the global environment and contribute to climate change. The poorest people often live in the most ecologically sensitive and vulnerable physical locations. These areas may be the most affected by the predictable effects of climate change such as an increased frequency of extreme events, for example floods, drought, rising sea levels, and melting ice caps. The risks facing poor people are often increased by the unsustainable use of biomass resources[3].
The connection between energy, the environment, and sustainable development is worth highlighting. Energy supply and use are related to climate change as well as such environmental concerns as air pollution, ozone depletion, forest destruction, and emissions of radioactive substances. These issues must be addressed if society is to develop while maintaining a healthy and clean environment. Ideally, a society seeking sustainable development should use only energy resources which have no environmental impact. However, since all energy resources lead to some environmental impact, an improved efficiency and environmental stewardship can help overcome many of the concerns regarding the limitations imposed on sustainable development by environmental emissions and their negative impacts[55]. 2ff7e9595c
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