The Nigerian capacity to host the Regional Centre for SHP

The major rivers of Nigeria, such as the Niger, Benue, Cross River and Kano and their tributaries along with some smaller rivers, provide an enviable potential for the exploitation of hydro energy in Nigeria. Mountains and hilly terrains with high river slopes, particularly in the Jos/Bauchi and Mambilla Plateau regions abound, and have very good sites for building reservoirs and diverting flows for power production. This technically exploitable hydropower potential is put at 20,000 MW, though the theoretically estimated potential is about 30,000 MW. The large-scale exploitation of hydro potential is mainly limited by the fluctuating nature of the Nigerian river flows, with high water discharges in rainy season and very low discharges in the dry season. At present, the major hydro sites are at Kainji and Jebba on the river Niger and Shiroro on the Kaduna River, with generating capacity of 760, 640 and 600 MW respectively. In addition to these, there are a number of small-scale hydro schemes around Jos Plateau, generating and supplying about 19 MW by a private sector operator, National Electricity Supply Company (NESCO). Feasibility studies have since been concluded for 3 hydro stations at Makurdi, Lokoja and Ikom. Further large unit extensions of these hydro schemes are likely to be limited by the associated social and environmental problems such as population dislocation. In addition to these sites, there are a large number of identified sites with potentials for supporting micro hydro (less than 100 kW), mini hydro (between 500 kW and 5,000 kW) schemes, in over 50 small rivers in the country. A network of small decentralized plants may be well preferred since small rivers and water falls are more prevalent and generally distributed than large water falls and therefore they offer opportunities for the development of isolated and remote areas. As of today, of all the renewable energy resources, only hydro energy is being meaningfully exploited. At present, renewable energy sources consisting basically of hydro energy, mainly large schemes, contribute only about 8 percent of the official energy supply. It is expected that the contribution from renewable energy sources (specifically SHP) to the total energy mix will grow. Government's plan, "Energy strategy for 2010" envisages a modest target of 5 – 10% for RET against the then energy requirements of 10,000 MW. Presently, the identified SHP potential for Nigeria is about 732 MW, of which only 19MW has been developed. A study of SHP potential in Nigeria is currently being considered for support by ADB. A large part of Nigeria's population is encircled by unimaginable level of poverty and deprivation, while enormous deposits exist of conventional energy sources such as oil and gas. Because of the depleting nature and the role of revenue generation attached to oil and gas by the country, it is inevitable that renewable energy (SHP in particular) has to play an important role in the long-term energy strategy of the country. Moreover, the fluctuating price regimes of commercial conventional energy bye-products such as kerosene and LPG are not within the reach of this portion of the population. This portion of the population is in the rural areas where hydro potential abounds. This large-scale poverty and deprivation can only be alleviated through increased use of energy in ventures, which provide meaningful job opportunities and which ensure dignified human existence. At present there are no specialised centres/agencies engaged in comprehensive research, training and consultancy service, for promotion of small hydropower development. These rivers have potential for hydropower (even though some of the rivers are non-perennial). Further, there are pockets of capacity and study results available all over Nigeria, which can easily be harnessed for studies and development initiatives on hydro energy. Similarly, the recent Federal Government initiative to put in place in each LGA an earth-dam is another welcome development to aid the studies and development of hydro energy. Hence, in the context of emerging international energy and economic scenario (including globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation, as well as NEPAD) establishing a specialised Regional Centre for Small Hydro Power in Abuja, Nigeria, will facilitate Nigeria becoming a leader in developing integrated small hydro power, not only for domestic needs but also for giving guidance to other countries in Africa

Need for a Regional Centre

In Nigeria, electricity is seen as an essential infrastructure in the same category as roads, telecommunications, and water. In fact, it is the life-blood of national development and industrial growth. The hydropower potential of Nigeria is high and hydropower currently accounts for about 32% of the total installed commercial electrical power capacity. Although electricity is treated as an essential social service, the present supply is characterised by erratic power supply to industries, inadequate coverage in terms of geographic spread, leaving out large number of villages and covering less than 40% of the population, with a record low per capita consumption. The establishment of a Regional Centre will assist the host organization to look for answers to these issues through encouraging a widespread development of SHP mostly in remote areas, consequently raising the percentage contribution of RE in the energy mix and offering a viable model of energy development for all the countries in Africa. Small hydropower plants can be set up in virtually all parts of Nigeria. Their suitability for stand-alone utilization in the rural parts of Nigeria can be further justified by noting that many viable small-scale plants are actually "run-of-the-river" schemes based on water wheels that require a minimal amount of civil works. Most small-scale schemes are around Jos in Plateau State, where there is a 2 MW station at Kwall falls on N'Gell River (or River Kaduna) and one 8 MW station at Kura falls. A private company, NESCO, developed these sites. Nigeria has 278 yet undeveloped sites for small hydropower production, with the total capacity of 734 MW. The country has now on-going, different phases of rural electrification to link its entire Local Government Headquarters. This is an enormous task because the sole utility in the country (NEPA) does not have the capacity to extend their lines far and wide to large numbers of isolated communities. Whereas, small hydro schemes can easily meet the energy needs of these rural communities, economically. NEPA and Rural Electricity Boards (REBS) now use only the national grid and diesel generators for their rural electrification programmes. Small hydropower is essentially non-polluting and it releases no heat. Adverse environment impacts are negligible and for small installations, it is totally absent. With the development of compact and efficient machines, the investment per installed kW is not very high. SHP projects do not require large capital investment. Compared to other conventional energy generation schemes, these projects have low gestation period ranging from 8 to 24 months. Operating costs are low and the equipment does not need trained and skilled personnel. With the introduction of microprocessors in the SHP station, it may run virtually unattended (automated schemes). Thus SHP is an ideal decentralized energy generation source. It can supply energy to rural feeders, cutting distribution losses to a large extent. SHP can also be synchronized with the grid and this has been demonstrated in national demonstration projects by NESCO in Jos and in the NEPA grid and is very widely applied in China. With the interconnection and synchronization with the grid, plant utilization factor becomes very high. Thus SHP becomes economically attractive too. As per the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, the SHP stations are classified as follows: Micro hydro (up to 100 kW, Mini hydro (101-2,000 kW) and Small hydro (2001-10,000 kW). All three fall under SHP. As mentioned above, roughly 60% of households are yet to get access to electricity, mainly because of the difficulty in drawing electric lines through the forest areas, to such remote settlements. In these areas, this project envisages encouraging development of stand-alone Small Hydro Power stations. Decentralized generation can provide electricity where it is otherwise not reachable, and they can be more dependable and economic. Some of the advantages are: 1. Can defer/avoid expenditure on long transmission and distribution network. 2. Can provide power more quickly to un-serviced areas. 3. Smaller generation options reduce risks for utilities. 4. Can match demand and supply of isolated human communities. 5. Smaller technologies are much less disruptive in terms of population displacement and biophysical effects and can present a more aesthetically and environmentally acceptable alternative to large scale facilities, which are uneconomic in view of low power intensity demanded. 6. Decentralized systems can develop the demand for electricity over time to the point where a grid connection becomes economically feasible.