Issues affecting the uptake of renewable energy sources for rural electrification and development projects in Nigeria

Abstract

How has being a fossil fuel-rich country affected the large scale adoption of renewable energy and its associate technologies for rural electrification and rural development projects in Nigeria? How is renewable energy and its associate technologies viewed by the bureaucrats tasked with the responsibility of providing electricity for rural communities in Nigeria? What are the dynamics involved in accepting an alternate form of energy for rural electrification projects in a fossil fuel rich country like Nigeria? These are some of the questions that are of significant interest to energy experts and observers in Nigeria, and it is believed that knowledge of the factors at play could help soothe the troubling energy dichotomy in the country – of having an abundance of energy sources but is one of the least electrified countries in the world.

The aim of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of government officials and experts responsible for rural electrification in Nigeria, the seemingly lack of interest in the utilization of the abundant renewable energy sources for rural electrification projects in Nigeria, and the influence, if any, that fossil fuel has had on the use of renewable energy sources for rural electrification. Following a qualitative research methodology, data on specific issues affecting the uptake of renewable energy technologies in rural electrification in Nigeria was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews across a spectrum of 17 senior federal government executives within various agencies tasked with managing the nation’s electric energy sector.

Analysis provided findings which showed that the concept of renewable energy powered rural electrification was a welcome idea that will only work as a viable option for power generation in a fossil fuel rich country like Nigeria, if built on already proven strengths of the concept, it can overcome certain generic and country specific barriers and misconceptions. It was found that renewable energy needed a high level of legitimacy to succeed in Nigeria. Legitimacy as found by the study would require conscious government participation, increased awareness, serious advocacy, improved bureaucratic involvement, and efforts to overcome liabilities of newness of the concept of renewable energy powered rural electrification.

It was also found that certain perceptual factors will have to be addressed for renewable energy to gain a stronghold in the country. These perceptual factors were found to either be inhibitors or facilitators of the concept of renewable energy powered rural electrification. Internal and external physiognomies of renewable energy, as well as country specific characteristics associated with it, could also greatly influence the adoption of renewable energy in a fossil fuel rich nation like Nigeria.

In the final analysis, it was found that renewable energy was actually recognized as an important option in achieving rural electrification in Nigeria, and that the factors identified by this study were already playing different roles in the nation’s energy sector, albeit minute. The issue, it seems, was the absence of a coordinating factor in the form of a champion for the renewable energy course; one who could rally the available resources and current policies to adequate action. It is suggested that having a champion from among the bureaucrats would propel advocacy for renewable energy powered rural electrification projects more easily and also help in tying together the rural electrification goals of the Government with the technical requirements needed to promote the use of renewable energy technologies for rural electrification in Nigeria.