Cities are increasingly relevant in addressing climate change and building a climate-resilient urban infrastructure on renewable energy is offering off-grid energy entrepreneurs a limitless opportunity to provide clean energy solutions.
An off-grid solution is the deployment of power supply by independent developers bypassing the distribution, transmission and generating power value chain of Nigeria’s main grid supply
A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Climate Initiative (IKI) on the Rise of renewables in cities: Energy Solutions for the urban future shows cities are responsible for over 70 percent of total energy-related CO2 emissions. Cities are home to 55 percent of the global population today and represent 80 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
According to the United Nations estimates, cities will have to accommodate two-thirds of the global population in a liveable, low-carbon environment by 2050.
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The eight largest cities in Nigeria will become even bigger until 2030. Prospects suggest that the population growth of Nigeria‘s biggest city Lagos will almost double within the next decade by up to 20 million people. Three other cities will also almost double their population.
Urbanisation is already a big factor in Nigeria, hosting five of the 30 largest urban settlements on the African continent. But it will play an even more pivotal role by 2037 when the urban population in Nigeria’s cities will have doubled.
To keep up with this steady growth, almost one million housing units must be built every year; amid the global quest for a net-zero carbon future provision of clean, green, renewable energy would also be critical.
Mini-grids are proving to be an important part of the solution in Nigeria. Not only does the energy they provide displace dirtier diesel generation, but they are also relatively cheap and rapid to install compared to national grid connections. Their restricted size can also be an advantage in cities where the planning process for larger-scale electrification can get bogged down in red tape.
Nigeria’s Energising Economies Initiative (EEI), set up under the Rural Electrification Agency, has aimed to maximise the benefits of this approach by launching a programme to bring energy access to 100,000 establishments in economic centres, such as the country’s myriad markets and shopping complexes, as well as agricultural and industrial clusters.
The EEI provides millions of people who work in or use these centres stable, clean, green electricity. Seventy percent of the power is intended to come from renewable sources, but even where it doesn’t, supply from a local power station will be cleaner than thousands of inefficient diesel generators. Some markets across Nigeria are already benefitting from this.
Sabon Gari is one of Nigeria’s largest markets, with more than 10,000 merchants selling a wide variety of goods and services. Previously, market sellers had to pay up to half their income to fuel the diesel generators that kept their businesses running.
