How COVID-19 is Accelerating Energy Transition in Developing Oil-Rich Countries: Nigeria as a Case Study
| Published date | 01 August 2020 |
| Date | 01 August 2020 |
| DOI | 10.3366/gels.2020.0034 |
| Pages | 234-240 |
According to USAID Power Africa fact sheet, the national grid supply in Nigeria can barely boast of 45 per cent electrification across the country which explains why providing electricity to the unserved and underserved population poses a significant challenge to the stakeholders in the energy sector
Despite the abundant availability of renewable energy resources in Nigeria, renewable energy installations still seem to be limited as the majority of these systems are either installed as backup solar or solar plus inverter systems in urban homes or in rural dwellings for standalone applications like solar home systems for meeting light load demand. Use of renewable energy in the commercial and industrial market segment is yet to take off. Majority of other installations are funded by the government and donor partners such as streetlights, rural mini-grids
Furthermore, despite the prospects for renewable energy to contribute to resolving Nigeria's poor grid infrastructure, there currently exists no grid-based renewable energy electricity production (aside from large scale hydropower systems), and the perception that renewables are a high-risk investment still prevails. In the year 2016, fourteen solar PV companies signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with a combined capacity of 1GW with the bulk electricity trader. Still, none of these companies had attained financial close as at 2018
The transition to renewable power sources is ongoing in many countries and is becoming increasingly affordable owing to constant innovations, falling technology costs for renewables, and forward-looking policy frameworks. Reports show that renewables have dominated new capacity additions and steadily outpaced fossil fuels in the last seven years. In...
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