Nigeria’s quest for sustainable energy, clean cooking

Nigeria’s quest for sustainable energy, clean cooking

To achieve universal access to electricity and clean cooking by 2030, countries need an integrated approach to the right use of energy that takes full advantage of all available solutions. Recently, the Federal Government, in collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), launched the Nigeria Integrated Energy Planning Tool, with support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. CHINAKA OKORO reports

Nigeria has had uncountable targets for the attainments of one goal or the other. Whether the goals were accomplished remains a conjecture.

Currently, it has keyed into the global plan to achieve universal access to electricity and clean cooking by 2030.

Mindful that 2030 is just eight years away, and committed to the realisation of this goal, the country recently launched the Nigeria Integrated Energy Planning Tool (IEP) on February 3, 2022. The tool, as an exemplar of a world-class IEP, encompasses electrification, clean cooking, and productive use.

It identifies the least-cost mix of solutions to meet the demand for a variety of energy services.

The tool, which was launched by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo alongside global leaders in the energy sector, is the first wholly- integrated energy planner for Nigeria.

While traditional energy plans focus primarily on electrification, the Nigeria IEP includes electrification, clean cooking, and productive uses for the entire country.

The Nigeria IEP is developed by the Federal Government in collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) with support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and funding from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Through this online geospatial visualisation platform, energy access data, analysis, and results are publicly available, benefitting a broad range of users, including the public and private sectors.

Osinbajo, at the global launch of the Energy Planning Tool, which was held virtually, noted that sustainable energy access was crucial for the country’s development.

He said: “Establishing clean, sustainable, and reliable energy access is intertwined with so many of Nigeria’s development goals. We have proven that transforming our energy system is a national priority through our Economic Sustainability Plan, and most recently, with our announcement at COP26 in Glasgow to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.

Emphasising the importance of the initiative, Osinbajo noted that the Tool would be essential for the government to achieve its universal access and clean cooking targets. He urged that all arms of government would promote it and use it broadly.  He also urged the international community to support Nigeria’s transition efforts with more realistic climate finance support.

Enumerating the benefits of this initiative to Nigeria, experts said the IEP for Nigeria stipulates that the least-cost plan for providing universal electrification through grid, mini-grid and solar home systems amounts to $25.8 billion.

For Nigeria to achieve universal access by 2030, the tool estimates that 19.3 million additional connections will be required across the country. This is exclusive of the expected 11.3 million additional connections in places that already have access to electricity due to population growth.

Research findings gleaned from the IEP platform indicate that “a mini-grid represents the least-cost technology for the bulk of these connections (8.9 million connections), with grid (5.4 million) and solar home system (5.0 million) sharing a similar number of connections among them.

“When agricultural activities such as maize and rice milling are added to the analysis, this increases the number of mini-grid least-cost communities by around 200, 000.”

It is agreed that the project is capital-intensive as the total cost to deliver these connections is estimated at $22.9 billion, of which $20 billion needs to be invested as up-front capital. Again, the main technologies being used (i.e., solar) do not consume any fuel and therefore have a limited operating cost.

It is estimated that around 53 per cent of households in mini-grid settlements and 92 per cent of households in solar-home system settlements will require public support to afford the total cost of ownership of the electrification solution.

Another aspect of energy sustainability that the country pursues with the tool is the potential for clean cooking solutions which is 3.7 million for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), 3.5 million for e-cooking, and 4.3 million for biogas.

The Nigeria Integrated Energy Planning estimates that under a business-as-usual scenario, the country would have over 40 million households cooking with emissions-intensive and polluting cooking methods by 2030.

To address this, there is an overall opportunity to expand clean cooking solutions to 3.7 million households with LPG cooking solutions; 3.5 million households with e-cooking solutions; or 4.3 million households with biogas cooking solutions.

The overall cost of implementing these solutions would be $478 million for LPG, $83 million for e-cooking, and $847 million for biogas. The cost of rolling out these technologies is split among stoves, accessories, and the infrastructure required to deliver fuel or electricity.

On its impact and based on the technology that has gone into the tool, it will be vital for the private sector. This is so because it will help solution providers to identify promising markets and provide useful market intelligence as they roll out electrification and clean cooking.

Another high point of the tool is its ability to identify risks associated with technology choice and strategies to promote productive-use demand to unlock the economic viability of mini-grids.

At the launch, Prof. Osinbajo disclosed that the administration is determined to transform the energy sector in Nigeria, even as he noted that “President Muhammadu Buhari is still committed to lifting 100 million people out of poverty and driving economic growth.

“The government is also keen on managing long-term job losses in the oil sector that will result from global decarbonisation.” He called on the international community to support Nigeria’s energy access and energy transition efforts through the much-needed climate finance commitments.

Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said: “The tool promotes a holistic approach to achieving SDG7 and energy development while also supporting local manufacturing, expanding local solar technology value chains, and potentially creating 250,000 new jobs in Nigeria’s energy sector.”

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed commended the Federal Government for its bold vision in closing its energy access gaps and for its ambitious Energy Transition Plan that outlines a pathway to net-zero by 2060.

She said: “Without prioritising universal energy access, including clean cooking, we will not achieve our global net-zero targets. Energy is also critical to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including improved health care, better jobs and livelihoods, and greater gender equality.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Damilola Ogunbiyi said: “Nigeria is leading the charge with their ambitious commitment to achieve net-zero by 2060.”

The SEforALL boss said: “I believe access to accurate and transparent data is critical to decision-making. I hope this demonstrates to other countries an invaluable tool for achieving their own energy access goals.”

Ogunbiyi is on a four-day trip to Nigeria for high-level meetings to harness the potential of the Nigeria IEP in the implementation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.

President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr Rajiv J. Shah said as the world strives to turn the commitments from COP26 into action, the foundation was proud to partner with Nigeria and SEforALL to help communities to connect and transit to quality renewable energy.

“The Nigeria Integrated Energy Planning Tool is transformative in its approach to integrated electrification. Not only will it advance our efforts to empower millions of people in Nigeria, it will also provide a model for clean electrification programmes, showing the world how to change energy for good,” Dr Shah said.