The United Nations says Nigeria’s energy crisis is surmountable with renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, biomass and wind.
UN Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, Regional Director and representative to the ECOWAS-UNIDO Regional Hub in Nigeria, Jean. B Bakole said this in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
He spoke at a capacity building workshop on small hydropower development for renewable energy development and financial institutions in Nigeria held at the Transcorp Hotel, Calabar.
UNIDO assisted with the N8.2 billion hydro electricity project situated at Obudu Ranch Resort to provide alternative electricity to Cross River and surrounding states was also flagged off by Governor Ben Ayade at the occasion.
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Bakole identified energy as a critical input for economic growth and sustainable industrial development of any country and expressed delight that Nigeria was rich in renewable energies.
“Fortunately, Nigeria is endowed with a tremendous amount of renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, biomass and wind”
According to him, among the renewable energy resources, Small Hydropower, SHP holds great potential towards increasing access to electricity and addressing climate change.
Bakole noted that “recent government estimates indicated that SHP accounts for about 15 percent of a hydropower potential of approximately 24,00 megawatts”.
He rued 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 prompting UNIDO in conjunction with Global Environmental Facility, GEF, and the Nigerian government to launch the “Scaling Up Small Hydropower, SHP” project in 2015.
Bakole stressed that the workshop was aimed at focusing on raising 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.
Addressing the participants, Governor Ben Ayade challenged Nigerian engineers to rise to the occasion and undertake such simple engineering tasks as building dams which the Chinese construct with ease.
“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 said.
“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 Cross River state governor further said.
Ayade emphasised that technology could be copied, citing the example of Chinese engineers who are consultants to the Obudu hydro project. “They adopted the technology from Germany and there is nothing wrong if Nigeria adopts the same approach to meets its electricity needs”, he stressed.
Earlier, the Cross River State Commissioner for International Development and Cooperation, Dr. Inyang Asibong called for alternative energy sources different from the national grid which she said has not served all parts of Nigeria effectively.
“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 sites suitable for small hydro power supply such as Obudu Ranch Resort, Agbokim Waterfalls, Kwa Falls, etc”, she said.
