Energy in Nigeria

Ogoni people live historically in the Niger Delta in the southeastern region of Nigeria. Ogoniland oil facilities are operated mainly by the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (Nigeria) in the upstream and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company in the downstream since the 1950s. The Ogoni campaign against Shell Oil is led by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP is campaigning for the expulsion of Shell from Ogoniland.[7]

According to the UNEP assessment in 8/2011, oil contamination is widespread in Ogoniland and oil spills continue still even in the old oil field areas. The Ogoni people live with this pollution every day. As Ogoniland has high rainfall, delay in the cleaning of the oil spills leads to spread oil contamination in the farmlands. Oil contamination of land areas, sediments and swampland are extensive. The wetlands around Ogoniland are highly degraded and facing disintegration. Fishermen must move to less contaminated areas in search of fish. The current Ogoniland community has lived with chronic oil pollution throughout their lives. Of most immediate concern in 12/2011, community members at Nisisioken Ogale are drinking water contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above the WHO guideline.[8][9]

The Niger Delta is one of the most polluted regions in the world. More oil is spilled each year than in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Nigerian government reports more than 7,000 spills between 1970 and 2000 and 2,000 major spillage sites.[10][11]

Pollution and environmental damage to the oil industry has a serious impact on people living in the Niger Delta. The environment laws are poorly enforced. Government agencies responsible for enforcement were ineffective and, in some cases, compromised by conflicts of interest. Communities in the Niger Delta frequently had no access to vital information about the impact of the oil industry on their lives. On 1 May 2010, crude oil from a leaking oil from an offshore platform of ExxonMobil's Qua Iboe oilfield reached the shores of the Ibeno community, Akwa Ibom state.[12]

Representatives of Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell are appearing in a Dutch civil court to face accusations of polluting Nigerian villages in 2012.[13] The UNEP report (2011) concludes that pollution of soil by petroleum hydrocarbons in Ogoniland is extensive inland areas, sediments and swampland.[14]

• Shell announced 40,000 barrels of the crude oil spill in Nigeria in December 2011. Bonga Field produces around 200,000 barrels a day. The spill was among the worst off the coast of Nigeria in 10 years.[15]
• 280,000 barrels of oil were estimated spilled in 2008 in two leaks in the Bodo region in the Ogoni district in 2008. Bodo is at the epicenter of several pipelines that collect oil from nearly 100 wells. Nearly 80% of people in Bodo were fishermen dependent on clean water.[10]

The Niger Delta area is oil-rich.

Because of Nigeria's role as a regional power, leading oil exporter, and major contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions, foreign governments—including the United States and the United Kingdom—have been reluctant to publicly criticize Nigeria's human rights record. In 2010 the UK increased funding to £140  million in aid to Nigeria, including security sector aid, without demanding accountability for Nigerian officials and members of the security forces implicated in corrupt practices and serious human rights abuses.[16]

Nigeria is only able to supply power to half of its population of 198 million.[27] Currently, Nigeria generates a small amount of energy from renewable sources such as hydro power, solar, wind and biomass.[28] In 2005, the Energy Commission of Nigeria developed the Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP), which suggests ideas for renewable energy policies, as well as possible technologies that can be used to fulfill their goals.[28] They are targeting to expand their energy access to 90 percent of the population by 2030 and 30 percent of their total generation to be from renewable sources.[27]

Due to its geographic location near the equator, Nigeria has the potential to generate most of its energy through solar.[29] Most of the big cities in Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja, Benin City, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Kano) now power their street lighting with solar energy through state beautification projects.[30] Low Energy Designs, a firm from the United Kingdom, was contracted to build solar powered street lights across Nigeria.[31] This twelve-month project is expected to cover about 300 km and cost about 7 million U.S. dollars.[31] In addition, the World Bank has lent Nigeria about 350 million to build a solar power grid by 2023 that will help generate power for hospitals, rural areas, schools and households.[27]

In February 2018, Nigeria completed the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project, which supplies about 261,938 citizens with clean renewable energy.[32] This project was in partnership with USAID, private donors, government agencies, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations.[32] The goal of the project was to build connections to 2.5 MW of power through off and on grid sources, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4.5 million metric tons.[32]

The Nigerian Energy Support Programme was developed in conjunction with the German development agency GIZ and International Finance Corporation. This involves training programs for Renewable energy systems and energy efficiency. Training is carried out by Nigeria's premier power systems trainer National Power Training Institute of Nigeria and other power trainers including the various energy research centers run by the Energy Commission of Nigeria.[33]

Nigeria has secured financial support from Chinese lenders to start construction on their Hydro-electric plant in Mambilla.[34] The idea to create this project was originally proposed in 1972 and is finally ready to be put into action over 45 years later.[35] Chinese lenders are providing 85% of the total 5.8 billion dollar project and Nigerian government will provide the rest of the funding.[36] The 3,050 megawatt power plant is expect to take five years to build.[36] The project will create four dams that measure about 50 meters in width and 150 meters in height.

Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) is a Federal Government initiative that is private sector driven and seeks to provide electricity access to households, micro, small and medium enterprises in off-grid communities across the country through renewable power sources. NEP is being implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in collaboration with the World Bank, AfDB, and other partners. The milestone reached by the initiative came through with the immense contribution of solar companies in Nigeria.[37] The companies were awarded projects and it was carried out.

Solar thermal energy has been utilized for decades in processes for cooking, food preservation, and agriculture. In 2016, President Buhari inaugurated the country's first solar power plant in Ibadan.[38] As of December 2017, Nigeria's federal government has invested $20 million on solar projects throughout the country.[39]

Nigeria's climate, resources, and economic and societal conditions make solar energy a suitable alternative energy source. The Northern part of Nigeria has the highest potential for solar. The North has an average solar insolation of 2200 kWh/m^2,[40] while the southern part has 1800 kWh/m^2.[40] In addition to adequate power outputs, solar energy would aid the country in reducing carbon emissions from fossil-fueled energy generation. Furthermore, solar power would provide a reliable and stable source of energy in both urban and other locations and could alleviate the resources-conflict associated with oil.

Wind turbine generation is another developing energy source in Nigeria. Wind speeds in Nigeria typically range from 2–9.5 m/s.[41] With such low wind speeds, investments and interest in wind energy have not been as high as solar power. However, wind power could be advantageous to rural and agricultural areas. Wind power would also be beneficial in the Southeast with wind power potentials higher than 4 m/s, and in the North where wind speeds reach up to 6 m/s at a 10 hub height.[40] Initiatives such as Nigeria's National Renewable Energy Plan are beginning to set forth goals in wind turbine implementation.[42] However, with insufficient data and its status as a relatively new technology, development overall has been slow and challenging.[43]

Despite a huge effort by public and private agencies to promote the adoption of alternative energy sources in Nigeria, renewable energy is still marred with several challenges hindering the complete integration, especially in the rural areas of Nigeria with an abundance of solar but little or no access to the grid. The major challenge seems to be capital intensive. The average rural dweller in Nigeria engaged in subsistence farming can not afford the cost of acquiring the components needed to generate electricity that can power as little as a 500W system. This is largely due to the high cost of deep cycle batteries, which is necessary for an off-grid solution.

Another challenge is the lack of adequate skilled labor in a population of about 200 million. Installing a renewable energy system is technical and requires the expertise of a trained technician. Some renewable energy companies in Nigeria have identified this problem and established renewable energy training academies across Nigeria.[44]