Current status and future prospects of renewable energy in Nigeria

Nigeria is faced with chronic electricity crisis that has resulted in the crippling of most sectors of the economy. It is estimated that only 40% of Nigerians are connected to the national grid and the connected population are exposed to frequent power outages. Nigeria׳s electricity grid is mainly powered by large hydropower and depleting hydrocarbon resources. Fossil-based electricity generation contributes not only to increase in carbon footprints, but also exposes the country to changes in price of petroleum resources and political instability from the oil producing region of the country. The country is blessed with abundant Renewable Energy (RE) resources that have not been fully exploited; these renewable resources have the potentials to change the status quo of power generation and consumption in the country. Availability of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) in all parts of Nigeria has been demonstrated in several studies. However, there is presently no comprehensive review of RE development in Nigeria. This contribution aims to fill this gap by focusing on the current status and future prospects of RE in Nigeria as well as identifying the key challenges confronting full scale RE development in the country. We discussed the existing government policies and legislations, and proposed others that can help speed up the adoption of RE in Nigeria. We also compared RE development in Nigeria with four other sub-Sahara African countries. We hope that this paper will stimulate further research on how to address the energy crisis in Nigeria using the RESs.