The Nigerian Government has been urged to channel resources towards developing renewable energy as a solution to the challenges of electricity generation and supply.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, regional Director and representative to the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, UNIDO regional hub, Nigeria, Jean Bakole made the call in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.
Bakole, who was speaking at a capacity building workshop on ‘small hydropower development for renewable energy development and financial institutions in Nigeria’, said that the country’s energy crisis was surmountable with renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, biomass and wind.
He stressed that energy was a critical input for economic growth and sustainable industrial development of any country, noting “fortunately, Nigeria is endowed with a tremendous amount of renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, biomass and wind.”
Increasing Access
According to him, among the renewable energy resources, Small Hydropower (SHP) holds great potential towards increasing access to electricity and addressing climate change.
Bakole said, “recent government estimates indicated that SHP accounts for about 15 percent of a hydropower potential of approximately 24,000 MW.”
He regretted that in spite of power potential as enumerated above, electricity access in Nigeria was still less than 60 percent resulting in a significant gap between demand and supply.
Bakole said, “this prompted UNIDO in conjunction with Global Environmental Facility, GEF, and the Nigerian government to launch the ‘Scaling Up Small Hydropower (SHP)’ project in 2015.”
He further said “this workshop was to raise awareness among policy makers, project developers and financial institutions on the viability of SHP as an effective means of generating electricity and enhancing economic development.”
Local Engineers
Declaring the workshop open, the governor Professor Ben Ayade challenged Nigerian engineers to undertake such tasks as building dams like the Asians.
Governor Ayade flagged off a UNIDO assisted 8.2 billion naira hydro electricity project situated at the Obudu Ranch Resort to provide alternative electricity to the state and nearby states at the occasion.
“After the construction of the Obudu hydropower project, let the next plant be constructed by Nigerian engineers because we have those willing to acquire the skill”, he challenged.
“I declare this workshop open with a sense of melancholy because I find it difficult to understand why at this age we are still where we are. Black is no longer a colour, but an expression of failure and it is my sincere faith that we grow beyond the level we are,” the governor said.
Ayade urged Nigerian engineers to explore and adopt western and Asian technology to meet the nation’s electricity challenges.
“The Chinese Engineers are consultants to the Obudu hydro project. They adopted the technology from Germany and there is nothing wrong if Nigerians adopts the same approach to meets our electricity needs,” he stressed.
Earlier, the Cross River State Commissioner for International Development Corporation, Dr. Inyang Asibong said that powering many Nigerian villages through alternative energy sources rather than connecting to the national grid would prove more effective for the people.
She said, “small hydro is the development of hydro electric power on a scale suitable for local community or isolated locations usually not connected to the national electricity grid. A small hydro system generates less than 50 megawatts of electricity.
“Cross River State has many communities suitable for small hydro power supply such as Obudu Ranch Resort, Agbokim Waterfalls, Kwa Falls and more,” she added.
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