Renewable Energy

As the renewable energy sector in Nigeria booms, more solar panels and components continue to find their way into the Nigeria market to meet up with the ever-surging demand for solar solutions. In this article, the author analyses how the Nigerian import tariff policy on solar products could impact on this booming market.

Most Nigerian residents still rely on diesel and petrol powered generators to complement the unstable energy they get from the national grid. However, there is a surging demand for standalone solar solutions, how will Nigeria handle the potential toxic lead-acid battery waste from solar products? This article tries to find out.

Many Nigerians cannot afford to buy their own homes. Real estate properties are expensive and there is lack of robust mortgage available to Nigerians. With an increasing population and an expanding housing deficit of over 17 million units, award winning architect Chinwe Ohajuruka still believes that affordable green houses have the ability to curtail the housing deficit and place many Nigerians on the pathway of owning their homes. Chinwe has completed the construction of an Eco Village in Port Harcourt which could become a blueprint for affordable housing, low-carbon architecture and job creation. Watch Video

Many Nigerians have grown skeptical about the power of solar. The general impression is that solar energy cannot provide a lot of power, that ‘it’s not bright’ and that it breaks down after just a few months. One solar engineer in the capital city of Abuja has gone all the way to demonstrate that this impression is wrong: He has built a block of apartments which are run entirely on renewable energy.

Nigeria‘s population of about 170 million people share 4,000 Megawatt of electricity between them. That amounts to about 3 light bulbs per person. However, Nigeria sees itself as a future world economic power. So how is Nigeria going to power its envisaged economic growth? What is Nigeria’s energy future? This article is based on a lecture held at the Lagos Business School by Hans Verolme, international expert specialising on green development solutions, climate and energy.  

The Good life Short film - Heinrich Böll Stiftung Abuja Office Watch on YouTube This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy. THE GOOD LIFE is a musical movie that shows young Nigerians looking for solutions for jobs, careers and justice in their lives. Some of them create their own power solutions, some demand solutions from election candidates. They all know that Nigeria cannot develop without concrete plans for rising supplies in electricity. THE GOOD LIFE needs POWER.

In Amakpa community in Edo state, Solar panels have powered a borehole for the past four years. The experience has been without hitches, a win-win for the villagers as Adesesde Oghademegbe explains in this short video. Watch video

The world’s 3rd largest exporter of crude, yet millions of Nigerians live in poverty. How does that really happen, where are the loopholes in the system, where exactly do Nigerians miss out on the oil bounty? Green Deal Nigeria author and insider expert of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Lois Laraba Machunga-Disu lists the weaknesses of the industry and makes practical suggestions how to fix Nigeria’s oil problems. - Oil & Gas, Green Deal Nigeria study For deeper insights, more technical information and analysis, consult the Technical Background Paper by Lois Laraba Machunga-Disu  

Nigeria’s renewable energy industry is tiny by all means, despite excellent conditions for electricity production from solar, small hydro and biomass sources. If Nigeria covered only 1% of its land mass with solar panels, it could produce 192,000 megawatts of power, compared to the 4,000 megawatts that are currently available on the national grid. In his contribution to the Green Deal Nigeria study, Huzi Mshelia describes the manifold efforts on energy policy and regulation, which have so far resulted in little results.

159 words to inspire you to think beyond oil… How would Nigeria look like once it has decided to go green on energy?

 What needs to be done for Nigerians to reap the benefits of their wealth in oil and gas? 3 action points:                          Federal Government of Nigeria: Stop gas flaring now, and open the gas market to commercial ownership of exploration, pipeline transmission and distribution.                   Civil Society: Demand the creation of a new governance for the energy sector, integrating regulations for oil, gas and renewable energies in a Federal Energy Commission. You: Attend public hearings on the Petroleum Industry Bill and demand clarity on the proposed management system of the gas sector. Host communities should receive royalties from the gas explored on their lands and government should receive income from taxing the commercial gas operators. We do not need derivation arrangements. (more details in Green Deal Nigeria study).

Out of 160 million Nigerians, about 100 million are still waiting for electricity. The 40% national grid makes large-scale rural development almost impossible to achieve. Renewable energies can provide power to millions of people in Nigeria, as the country has enough sun, small water ways, wind and biomass to produce 200,000 mega watts or more. But there is lack of awareness and of large-scale government support. This video is meant to increase awareness of renewable energies as cheap sources of reliable power. Watch Video

Forty per cent of Nigerian agricultural products ends up as waste. Fruit and vegetables at the famous Mile 12 market in Lagos are no exemption, despite the fact that Lagos’ gastronomy and people depend on this market for their daily supplies. Aniche Phil-Ebosie sees money in this waste, and is using the rotting veg to produce gas, which he turns into electricity for the market stalls. Watch Video

Kunle Adeyemi, a Nigerian architect based in Amsterdam, was equally fascinated by the way of living of the Makoko community. He argues that Makoko and other water communities embody a unique synthesis of socio-political relations, economic networks, architecture and spatial presence that collectively push at the frontiers of urbanism. The “Floating School” which he developed and built in collaboration with the community opened an international debate on visionary forms of architecture to adapt to the challenges of flood and population growth

Why does Nigeria have to become ‘green’? Many might say that Nigeria needs development of any kind whatsoever to raise people out of poverty and start industrial development. Lead author of the Green Deal Nigeria study, international climate expert Hans Verolme, explains the international context and argues that a Green Deal is not a luxury, but an immediate necessity. Read

It’s what people say when they invite someone to share their meal: in Nigeria, you ‘chop’ food as you dig your fingers into some delicious pounded yam with egusi stew. Alas, most Nigerians are not aware that by eating food, they usually chop down trees, too. As most Nigerian meals are still prepared on the traditional three-stone fire, the nation’s forest cover has been reduced to 5 per cent of its original size. Environmental journalist Ugochi Anyaka on Nigeria’s deforestation crisis..

In the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa, the demand for firewood for baking bread has resulted in unsustainable felling of trees. This has further accentuated the problem of desert encroachment. Watch this video and contact us on info@ng.boell.org if you have a solution.

Green Deal Nigeria is an initiative aimed at creating a debate on greener development options for Nigeria. Whether young, jobless, banker, market woman or politician- Green Deal Nigeria wants all of these to debate where Nigeria should go in terms of economic growth and social justice. After the Occupy movement, how can Nigerian citizens influence politics and development in a country with high levels of corruption and low levels of policy implementation? GDN Observational Documentary - Heinrich Böll Stiftung Abuja Office Watch on YouTube This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy.