Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

The status of solar energy integration and policy in Nigeria

⁎
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C.G. Ozoegwu , C.A. Mgbemene, P.A. Ozor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: The need to understand and proffer sustainable solutions to the persistent energy crises and energy starvation in
Renewable energy Nigeria even in the face of abundant endowment of both renewable and fossil energy resources motivated this
Solar energy study. This study justified why solar energy should be accorded the highest priority as energy source in not only
Solar thermal Nigeria but globally. A detailed review of the past, current and future status of solar integration in Nigeria is
Solar PV
presented; it is seen that for grid-connected solar power integration the past status is nil, the current status is nil
Energy policy
and future status may not be completely bleak as a number of Memoranda of Understanding have been signed.
The existing supportive solar energy policies are highlighted and discussed; the chasm between the
commendable Nigeria policy landscape and near-to-zero status of solar integration is blamed on poor
implementation of the existing provisions by the Government. Recommendations were made on the basis of
the existing policies and proposed policies. Additional provisions to some of existing laws of the Federation to
accommodate support for solar energy integration are suggested. It is recommended that the poor and incipient
status of solar integration in the vastly populated Nigeria should be viewed in a positive light by potential
foreign investors as such status is a guarantee that solar power and thermal industry is a firsthand investment
opportunity.

1. Introduction
Renewable energy sources are the energy resources that are
environmentally friendly, readily available and infinite in extent or
replenished (or can be replenished) with usage. The renewable energy
resources include solar energy, biomass, wind, geothermal, hydro. They
are used to generate various usable secondary (or final) energy forms or
energy carriers (electricity, fuel bio-ethanol, biogas, biodiesel etc).
Debates have favored RE energy in different fronts. Select countries
of the world are endowed with fossil energy while all countries are
endowed with RE; for example, every country receives solar energy.
Therefore RE resources are less expected to become root of national
and international conflicts as it is the case with fossil energy resources.
RE is the solution to the problem of finite and depleting nature of fossil
fuels and the harmful (to both the earth and its inhabitants) emissions
and effluents associated with their (fossil fuels) utilization. It is known
that world demand for electricity is increasing faster than total primary
energy supply [1] and this is more so on sole reliance on fossil energy
resources since this would mean progressively higher rate of utilization
of a finite resource and thus hastened attainment of energy drought.
These in essence mean that the energy for long-term sustainable
development must majorly (if not entirely) come from RE resources.
Nigeria is a country in energy and economic crises and need for
adoption of RE as a way out of the crises and out of the afore-
mentioned problems of fossil fuels has been emphasized in a number of
studies. A number of works such as [2–7] have focused on policy
arguments to advocate increased utilization of renewable energy
resources in Nigeria. Some other such works focused on specific
primary renewable energy resource or group of related renewable
energy carriers; for example [8], considered the potential for renewable
distributed power generation in Nigeria from bioenergy resources while
the works [9,10] have focused on policy promotions for adoption of
biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas) in Nigeria. Ohunakin et al.
[11] focused on analysis of the drivers and barriers to solar energy
applications and developments in Nigeria. In the current study, the RE
policy items which are not found in the Nigeria RE policy but are
important given the Nigerian energy consumption pattern and culture
will be discussed and advocated for adoption with justifiable placement
of emphasis on the solar energy. The current study is thus unique as it
tries to: justify why solar energy should be given number one spot for
development in Nigeria; Review in more detail the status (past, current
and future) of solar integration in Nigeria; informatively highlight the
existing policies together with recommendations of new policies that
suit the Nigerian energy consumption environment and suggest addi-
tional provisions to some of existing laws of the Federation to
accommodate support for solar energy integration.

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: chigbogug@yahoo.com, chigbogu.ozoegwu@unn.edu.ng (C.G. Ozoegwu).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.224
Received 11 February 2016; Received in revised form 11 October 2016; Accepted 18 November 2016
1364-0321/ © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
2. Motivations to rising global adoption of renewable energy
The oil crises of 1973 [12] - though a nightmare at the time of
occurrence as a result of high fuel prizes - can today be considered
blessing in disguise because it galvanized intense research effort on
renewable energy (RE) [13]. RE today is no longer seen only as buffer
to potential volatility in prices of fossil primary energy resources but
also as the energy for sustainable development into the future that
guarantees the following trends [14]; reducing health and environ-
mental impacts of fossil energy use, boosting energy access and security
and provision of secondary benefits like improved opportunities for
education, job creation, rural economic development, poverty reduc-
tion, and gender equality. The UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 made sustainable develop-
ment the principal determinant of composition of the energy future of
the world to be significantly renewable [1]. This formed part of the
impetus for rising trends in global renewable energy integration,
investment and policy support. Renewable Energy Policy Network for
the 21st Century (REN21) is an international organization that
facilitates knowledge exchange, policy development and joint action
towards a rapid global transition to renewable energy. REN21 arose in
the world's first government-hosted international conference on renew-
able energy held in Bonn, Germany in June 2004 by delegates from 154
countries. The advent of REN21 has heralded a more-than-ambitious
growth rate in renewable energy market when compared with what
obtained before; for example, by the end of 2013, nearly 50% and 98%
of all operational global PV capacity was installed since the beginning
of 2012 and 2004 respectively [14]. Renewable energy resources met
13% of the world's primary energy demand in 2011 [15]. By the year
2012 fourteen percent of the of total world energy demand is supplied
from renewable energy resources [13] while 19% of global final energy
consumption was supplied from RE sources [14]. The above listed
magnitudes of the renewable proportion of world energy is better
appreciated quantitatively when put in perspective with the IEA
estimate of the world energy consumption for the year 2012 as
13371 Mtoe or 560EJ [16]. The share of RE resources in the global
electricity mix is 20% in 2011 and under the new policies scenario
outlook, is expected to attain 31.3% [15]. Renewables made up an
estimated 58.5% of net additions to global power capacity in 2014 and
comprised an estimated 27.7% of the world's power generating capacity
by year's end [17]. The European Union has policies and plans to
obtain 20% of its energy needs from renewable energy resources by
2020 [1]. United nations targeted to increase RE usage by 50% and
reduce conventional energy source by 50% in year 2013 [18].
3. The supreme competitiveness of solar energy in the long-
term
Competiveness of solar radiation relative to other primary energy
resources becomes supreme when its universal availability together
with its almost zero environmental impact on utilization is noted. This
is hardly the case for other primary energy resources. The absolute
enormity of solar as the mother primary energy resource has been
quantified in [1] as follows: the solar energy reaching the earth from
the sun is so enormous that more than four times of the total world's
capacity of 5000 GW in electricity generation will be harnessed even if
only 0.1% of this energy could be converted at an efficiency of 10%; in
other words, the total yearly solar radiation falling on the earth is more
than 7500 times the world's total annual primary energy consumption
of 450 EJ. The annual average solar resource is uniform enough
throughout almost all human-inhabited regions of the world that the
supreme competiveness applies all round. Supply infrastructures of
most of other energy resources; for example, gas and oil pipelines or
vehicular and other mechanical conveyor systems are vulnerable to
adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and human vandalism
but there are no such risks in solar energy supply. The basic
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
disadvantage associated with solar power technology is hinged on less
economic competitiveness compared to conventional technologies and
renewable power technologies like wind and hydro. Mgbemene [19]
considers the fear about cost and level of maturity of RE technologies
as misconceptions. The viewpoint of less economic competitiveness is
based on economic analysis that has been judged as unfair against solar
- by Timilsina et al. [20] - on the bases that accurate cost of negative
externalities of conventional technologies and benefit of solar in terms
of unrestricted potential for distributed power generation (unlike wind,
hydro, geothermal and ocean energy with potential restricted by
natural endowment) are not taken into consideration. Construction
of dams for hydropower - just like wars - displaces aboriginal
populations of riverside communities and floods farms and forests in
the process of filling requisite large reservoirs. The cost analyses which
place hydro power above solar do not normally take into consideration
the cost of such massive human displacement, greenhouse-gas emis-
sions from decaying flooded organic matter, pressure on ecosystems of
the not-flooded adjoining areas and the cost to agriculture and fishing
downstream of the dam. These problems do not respect international
borders thus dams are not free from becoming source of international
tensions. A typical example is the continual tension between Nigeria
and Cameroon over the latter's routine release of water from the hydro
power Lagdo dam. The tension is because the arising flood sweeps
through some states in Nigeria damaging lives and properties. The
scale of the damages in 2012 is always a case to fear as calls thereafter
for preparedness are high whenever there is an impending release [21].
It is stated earlier that hydro power capacity is restricted by natural
endowment meaning that developing all feasible sites will not be
sufficient to meet the long-term energy needs of many nations. Wind
turbines perform best when located in prominent areas like hill-tops
thus angers locals by creating significant visual impairment and
potential risks to property values in nearby areas [22]. This is in
addition to problems of intermittency which limits deployment of wind
turbines as large-scale electricity utilities.
The supreme competiveness of solar energy is not in any way meant
to dilute the advocacy for RE supply from waste biomass especially
municipal solid and liquid wastes as their utilization in this manner - in
addition to clean energy supply and stabilization of wastes - protects
the environment from negative externalities like green house Landfill
gas (in the case of municipal solid wastes) emission and pollution.
Landfill gas which is a mixture of 45–60% methane, 40–55% carbon
dioxide and trace components is a product of complex chemical and
biological decomposition processes on the organic component of
municipal solid wastes. Landfills of municipal solid wastes alone
account for about 8% of global methane emission and in addition
wastewater accounts for about 17% of the global major sources of
methane [23]. Thus Landfill gas must be captured for RE energy
application to forestall further accelerated climate change. But the
advocacy for solar energy would overshadow the advocacy for RE
supply from energy crops because of the not-yet-resolved stigma of
competition for land with food and feed crops, timber and fiber
producing plants, human residential expansion, and nature conserva-
tion and climate protection forests. More analyses on the debates for
and against bio-energy crops can be found the work of Popp et al. [24].
According to Bradford [22] industrial geothermal energy sources are
not as environmentally friendly as they might look since they emit
significant amounts of unfriendly gases like hydrogen sulfide and
carbon dioxide. Moreover the potential worldwide geothermal market
is no more than 6.5% of all electricity generation thus the future is
clearly limited.
Though available in enormous quantity on earth, solar energy has
low-density and intermittent nature that makes research effort im-
perative for its efficient interception, conversion to final forms (thermal
and electric) and storage. Though intermittent, the average variation of
solar energy over a day somewhat follows the human electricity
demand trend. The research effort has over the decades led to more
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
efficient designs and cheaper mass manufacture of more efficient and
durable solar collecting materials. A significant portion of research
effort on solar utilization is spent on improving efficiency of solar
collectors. While most panels available in today's market have efficien-
cies of the order of 15%, triple-junction (GaInP/GaAs/Ge [germa-
nium]) cells and concentrating PV have been reported to attain
efficiencies of about 44% [1]. As a result, for example, the price of
PV panels came down from around US$ 30/W about 30 years ago to
less than US$ 1/W in 2013 [1]. This has triggered rise in demand (in
the environment of supportive policies though) as, for example, can be
seen in the 53 fold rise (from 2.6 to 139 GW) in global solar PV
capacity, 8.5 fold rise (from 0.4 to 3.4 GW) in global concentrating
solar thermal power and 3.3265 fold rise (from 98 to 326 GWth) in
global solar hot water capacity from start of 2004 to the end of 2013. At
present, the markets for solar PV technologies are increasing at a rate
of more than 35% per year and solar thermal power growth is expected
to be even higher [1]. In addition to these promising statistics, a
number of projections have been made regarding future of solar
integration in the future of global primary and final energy use; for
example, IEA projects that solar power could provide a third of the
global final energy demand after 2060, while CO2 emissions would be
reduced to very low levels [25].
The Supreme Competitiveness of Solar Energy normally reflects as
higher penetration levels than other RE resources in the long-term RE
targets of developing countries. For example: India planned to install
15 GW of grid-connected renewable energy mainly from wind, micro-
hydro and biomass, considering solar PV as an additional option if its
prize falls to levels of micro-hydro in the project period of 2007–2012.
But more recently, the National Solar Mission of India targets 1 GW
and 20 GW of grid-connected solar power by 2013 and 2022 respec-
tively [20]; and the projection by Energy Commission of Nigeria [26]
based on 13% GDP growth rate places renewable electricity supply
from solar as 600 MW by 2015 (short-term), 6136 MW by 2020
(medium-term), and 48,132 MW by 2030 (long-term) while for hydro
the figures become 4100 MW by 2015, 9760 MW by (2020), and
14,750 MW by (2030). This figures show that even though hydro
dominates the Nigerian RE targets in the short and medium terms,
solar energy considerably dominates in the long-term. The points
raised so far are justifications that the energy source for the long-term
sustainable development is solar.
4. The Nigerian energy crises and RE solution
4.1. Background to the Nigerian energy crises
Total primary energy consumption in Nigeria was about
4.5 × 1015 British thermal unit (Btu) or 4.7475 EJ in the year 2012;
traditional biomass and waste (animal manure and crop residues)
are the resources for 80% of this consumption. The consumption is
mostly in the form of off-grid heating and cooking at rural level
[27]. This data is typical of Sub-Saharan Africa where percentage
energy supply from traditional biomass ranges from 75% to 96%
[28]. Nigeria is a country known for chronic energy crises that stem
mostly from local and international happenings that affect the
Nigerian crude oil and gas industry. According to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) report in 2014 [29], oil and natural gas
industry in Nigeria typically accounts for 75% and 95% of total
government revenue and total export revenue respectively, making
the economy vulnerable to volatility in crude oil prices despite
fiscal buffers like Excess Crude Account and Sovereign Wealth
Fund. A typical example is the quick transition from era of
flourishing income when crude oil sold at 112.75 US dollars per
barrel in December 2013 [30] to the current era (the beginning part
of 2016) of meager income that crude oil sells (with less than slight
hope of recovery) around 30 US dollars per barrel. This has raised
questions on feasibility of successful implementation of the 2016
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
budget that was benchmarked on 38 US dollars per barrel (though
19% of the proposed budget is expected to be financed by the oil
sector which is a lower dependence in comparison with 48% in
2015). The laws guiding the oil industry is not yet fully developed
thus hampers full foreign investment in the industry. For example,
the petroleum industry bill (PIB) proposed in 2008 to restructure
the organization and fiscal terms governing oil and gas industry has
continued to receive delayed passage till date. The delay has
created uncertainty around the contentious issues of the bill thus
slowing down investments - especially in deep water oil projects -
by international oil companies. The atmosphere of poor regulation
condoned poor maintenance of aging oil infrastructure and con-
doned operational failure that have - over the decades - caused oil
spillage. The oil spillage has polluted the host communities to the
point of robbing them of their livelihood from their environment
thus triggering agitations and instability. This has led to rise in
vandalism and takeover of oil facilities by militants since the mid
2000s. Also, causing a significant rise in frequency of oil spillage
that it is now difficult to specify the extent of liability of the oil
companies (which were originally solely blamed) in resolving the
environmental damage in the Niger-Delta. EIA [27] stated that the
stolen oil in Nigeria can reach as high as 400,000 barrels per day
and that most of the stolen oil make it to the international oil
market as a result of collaborative sabotage involving amongst
others the locals, bank managers, government officials and security
personnel. This amount of stolen oil is comparable with the
combined capacity of 445000 barrels per day of the four refineries
in Nigeria. The refineries operate so below full capacity that make-
up refined petroleum products have to be imported to meet the
domestic consumption which for example, could have been met in
2014 by 68.54% of the refining capacity. Importation of refined
products - which in 2013 was to the tone of 164000 barrels per day
[31] - is an economic arrangement that costs Nigeria more and robs
her of needed employment opportunities. Fuel subsidy, regarded by
the Nigerian masses as the basic benefit from the rich oil endow-
ment cost $8 billion in 2011 [27] and according to [32] cost an
average of ₦1trillion per year in the last five years. The Nigerian
government was forced to retain partial subsidy after their an-
nouncement of total subsidy removal in January 1 of 2012 was met
with public outcry, massive strikes and protests tagged "Occupy
Nigeria". The perceived benefits (more availability of funds for
capital development, removal of market distortions, hastened
investment in the downstream sector, reduced economic inequality
and reduced fraud in the oil sector) continue to push the govern-
ment towards complete removal and the battle with the masses
rages.
4.2. Crises in the Nigerian electricity supply
The sequel to these energy crises is that supply of final energy resources
and energy carriers is far below demand on per capita basis. It is known
that social, economic, technological and industrial development of a country
is directly related to the final energy consumption. It has specially been
concluded in the Nigerian context that electricity consumption is a
fundamental driver of economic growth [33]. It is therefore not surprising
why Nigerian economic growth indicators have been as weak as the
Nigerian power sector over decades. Nigeria has one of the lowest per
capita net electricity generation in the world partly because of the effect of
the afore-discussed crisis situations in the energy sector. Table 1 lists the
national data on electricity supply to a select sub-Saharan African countries
to surprisingly reveal that the average electric power supply per capita of
18.265 W for Nigeria is five and thirty two times smaller than that of
Zambia and South Africa respectively. Other major factors militating
against the electric power sector border on inefficient hardware in the
electricity industry, inefficient management of the electricity industry and
poor/corrupt marketing of electric power [34]. The actual electricity
C.G. Ozoegwu et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

Table 1 Table 2
The electricity supply to a select sub-Saharan African countries in year 2010. The renewable energy potential of Nigeria.

Country Electric Electric energy Mean Mean Electric Resource type Reserves Units
energy supply per Electric Power supply
supply capita (kW h/ Power supply per capita (W) Small hydropower 3500 [3] MW
(GW h) [23] cap) [23] (MW) Large hydropower 11,250 [3] MW
11,235 [4]
Nigeria 25,373 160 2896.5 18.265 Wind 2–4 [3] m/s at 10 m
Botswana 3442 1715 392.92 195.78 height (main
Angola 4993 262 569.98 29.909 land)
Cameroon 5443 278 621.35 31.735 Solar radiation 3.5–7.0 [3] kW h/m2/day
Gabon 1755 1166 200.34 133.11 3.5–7.5 [4]
Ghana 9232 378 1053.9 43.151 Municipal Solid Generated 17451000 [23] tonnes per year
Kenya 6840 169 780.82 19.292 wastes Collected 7329000 [23]
Lesotho 896 413 102.28 47.146 Animal waste 211 million assorted animals
Mozambique 11,742 502 1340.4 57.306 (285.065 million tons/yr of
Namibia 3743 1640 427.28 187.21 production) [3]
Senegal 2552 205 291.32 23.402 61 [4,39] million tons/yr
South Africa 253,720 5061 28963 577.74 Energy crops and agric 28.2 (30% of total land) million hectares
Sudan 7816 179 892.24 20.434 residue of arable land
Swaziland 1455 1227 166.1 140.07 Crop residue 83 [4] million tons/yr
Zambia 10,476 800 1195.9 91.324 Fuel wood 11 [3] million hectares
Zimbabwe 13,010 1035 1485.2 118.15 of forest and
wood land
Wave and tidal energy 150,000 [4] TJ
demand is about 10000 MW [35] but the net generation in the year 2012 1759.6 [4] toe/yr

was 3080 MW [27].

It is also commented in [3] that Nigeria effectively generates only
4.3. Solar energy as solution to the power crisis
1600 MW out of 6000 MW of installed capacity; this effective genera-
tion level is seen to be below the 2000 MW stated by Ojo [36] to be the
RE resources, especially solar, are shielded from these crises and
power needed in the year 2009 by the Nigerian industrial sector alone.
the other aforementioned general problems (selective endowment,
This highlights how costly it has been to the players running the
finite availability, polluting production and utilization and price
already moribund industrial sector. As a result about 60% of the total
volatility) associated with conventional energy resources thus Nigeria
population lack access to grid-connected electricity [35,37] with 80% of
must increasingly embrace the renewables especially solar. Nigeria is
this disadvantaged proportion of the population domiciled in the rural
abundantly endowed with renewable energy resources as can be seen
areas. The 40% with access to electricity has had one of the most erratic
summarized in Table 2 below. These energy resources remain largely
power supply in the world; for example, a Distribution System
untapped except for the biomass resources that are exploited in the
Reliability index called System Average Interruption Duration is
traditional way of open-air combustion.
extremely high for Nigeria at values exceeding 60,000 min where
USA has the value of same index as 88 min [2]. The industries and
5. Solar radiation
businesses that continue to thrive make-up for this deficiency with on-
site generation using miniature plants that run mostly on petrol and
Solar radiation is in the short-wave range of the electromagnetic
diesel causing the cost of production and services to be very high and
spectrum which results from nuclear reactions in the sun. The
net profit to be very low. This led to flight of industries and businesses
wavelength is in the range of about 0.3–3 µm. The visible sub-spectrum
from Nigeria and rise of unemployment; for example, it is known that
which is popular in technological solar applications belongs to this
bulk of the Nigerian traders and entrepreneurs prefer to produce in
range. The sun is a spherical collection of dense (about 100 times as
China where cost of production was reported by Ojo [36] to be about
dense as water) gaseous matter with estimated diameter of 1.39×109m,
14.3% of what obtained in Nigeria. Despite the crises situation in
holding the earth in an orbit of approximately 1.495×1011m (one
energy supply, Nigeria still allows colossal losses in inefficient utiliza-
astronomical unit (AU) of distance) radius [40]. The nuclear reactions
tion and wastages. The fact that on average about 63% of Nigeria
in the sun are of direct fusion of protons to heavier Helium nuclei. The
electricity generating capacity is based on gas notwithstanding, Nigeria
sun emits energy at a rate of about 3.8 × 1011PW (this value is given as
has not been able to curb associated gas flaring. About 15% of gross gas
3.8 × 1023 kW per second in [1]). At the mean sun-earth distance of
production was flared in 2013 [38], representing enormous waste of
about one AU, solar radiation traverses the space and reaches the top of
energy resource and environmental pollution. This is definitely not to
the earth's atmosphere at the average rate (called solar constant) of
be allowed in the ambitious projections of Nigerian energy future as gas
about 1353 Wm−2 with error of ±1.2% as measured at high altitude
is more important than the rest of the other energy resources
with spacecraft [41]. According to [1] the most recent estimate of solar
combined; based on 13% GDP growth, targets of 56.37%, 70.23%
constant stands at 1366.1 Wm−2. About 95.7 PW of solar radiation
and 52.13% of electricity from gas by 2020, 2025 and 2030 respectively
reaches the surface of the earth [42]. This data has a slightly larger
have been set [26]. Inefficiency is also rife in consumption of the
value of 100 PW in a more recent source [43]. According to Tian and
grossly insufficient electricity supply, for example there is widespread
Zhao [44], the world energy budget by NASA sources gives that the
use of incandescent light bulbs rather the efficient LED bulbs. Oyedepo
solar radiation reaching the earth's surface represents 55% of the value
[6] has observed that the present power crisis afflicting Nigeria will no
at the top of the earth's atmosphere. Thus based on the data of Ref.
doubt persist if the Nigerian government does not diversify her energy
[42,43] the solar radiation at the top of the earth's atmosphere is 174 or
sources and adopt new available technologies to reduce energy
181 PW respectively. Four percent in the 55% at the earth's surface is
wastages and save cost. The call for improvement in efficiency of
reflected while the other 51% is absorbed. Of the 45% of the incoming
energy utilization is getting louder and effort by the government in this
solar radiation that did not get to the surface of earth, 26% was
direction is reflected in policy targets which includes; attaining
reflected (6% by atmosphere and 20% by clouds) and 19% was
replacement of 40% by 2020 and 100% by 2030 of old and inefficient
absorbed (16% by atmosphere and 3% by clouds). The matter of the
appliances in Nigeria with energy efficient appliances [18].
atmosphere and earth's surface emit long-wavelength thermal radia-

460
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
Table 3
The projection by Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) of Nigeria energy demand
(mtoe).
GDP growth scenario Year
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
7% (reference) 51.40 79.36 118.14 169.18 245.19
10% (high growth) 56.18 94.18 190.73 259.19 414.52
11.5% (optimistic) 56.18 108.57 245.97 331.32 553.26
13% (optimistic) 72.81 148.97 312.61 429.11 715.70
tion while absorbing solar radiation. The emitted radiation is normally
not of interest in glazed technological applications because of unfavor-
able spectral interactions. The emitted long-wavelength thermal radia-
tion and the thermal component of the solar spectrum are however the
drivers of non-assisted (passive) drying of especially crops and
agricultural produce for storage in the rural areas.
The annual average horizontal surface irradiance on the surface of
the earth is approximately 170 Wm−2[1] which is about one-eighth of
the solar constant. The yearly insolation of this irradiance level on 1 m2
is approximately the energy that can be extracted from one barrel of oil,
200 kg of coal, or 140 m3 of natural gas [1]. The global average values
for solar energy may be very useful in quantitative RE policy debates
but not in actual application as solar energy depends on astronomical,
geographical, atmospheric, and meteorological parameters which vary
with location and - with the exception of geographical parameters like
latitude, longitude and altitude - vary with time.
In other words solar energy is variable RE resource on both
temporal and spatial scales. In application a solar device is preferably
designed based on the solar availability at the intended point of
deployment. Also solar availability influences location-specific policies.
As a result reliable solar radiation measurements and models differ for
different climatic locations. Weather parameters which mainly non-
deterministically vary with cloud cover and atmospheric aerosol levels
heavily influence the randomness and availability of terrestrial solar
radiation. The terrestrial solar radiation is thus modeled empirically as
its random nature makes pure mathematical models impossible.
Recent comprehensive review of the forecasting methods for terrestrial
solar radiation can be found [45,46]. The empirical models reviewed in
[46] were classified into: models based on Sunshine which are inspired
by the pioneering Angstrom-Prescott models- dedicated review of the
models can be seen [47,48], models based on cloud cover, models
based on temperature, and models that include other meteorological
parameters like precipitation, relative humidity, dew point tempera-
ture, soil temperature, evaporation and pressure in addition to any
acceptable combination of the major factors (sunshine, cloudiness, and
temperature). Nigeria is typically data-sparse region in measured
weather conditions and solar-energy [49,50]. The methods that can
be employed in modeling the solar radiation of the numerous Nigerian
locations that lack data are; (i) using the globally applicable models-
Some of the empirical solar radiation models acclaimed for global
applicability are [51–54], (ii) directly measuring the solar radiation
(time spans of measurements are normally too short to be considered
reliable [55])- typical works in this direction are [56,57] or (iii)
accessing data through internet websites of national government
agencies - typical work in this direction are [50,58]. It must be noted
that solar radiation data accessed from the internet are not directly
measure for such data-sparse sites but estimations based on measure-
ments at similar climatic locations.
6. Analysis of the Nigerian solar energy resource
Nigeria is a tropical west African country that is noted in [2] to
receive average sunshine hours of about 6 h; the sunshine hours lie in
the range of 4–8 h per day [39]. This average sunshine hours is almost
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
3
7% (reference)
10% (high growth)
2.5 11.5% (optimistic)
13% (optimistic)
2
Percentage
1.5
1
0.5
0
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
Year
Fig. 1. The percentage of the Nigeria surface area from which Nigeria energy demand
projections by ECN can be met at 15% efficiency.
same as half of duration from sunrise to sunset which is approximately
fixed as it lies in a very narrow neighbourhood of 6 h for all days of the
year. For reference, compare for example the range of the annual daily
variation of duration from solar noon to sunset of [5.8197, 6.1803] for
Awka (6.2069°N and 7.0678°E) a typical Nigerian state capital and
[4.4094, 7.5906] for Madison in Wisconsin USA (89.4°N and 43°). The
range for the former is about a ninth of that of the latter. Further, being
located in the tropics, Nigeria lies in a high sunshine belt where solar
radiation is fairly well distributed varying from about 12.6 MJ/m2/day
at the coastal latitudes to 25.2 MJ/m2/day in the far north [18]. This
translates in power units to variation from about 145.8333 W/m2 in
the coastal latitudes to 291.6667 W/m2 in the far north. The average
receipt of solar radiation by Nigeria is at the value of 19.8 MJ/m2/day
[2] which is equivalent to 229.1667 W/m2 in power terms.
The national target to increase the generation capacity of power
facilities to 10,000 MW by the year 2007 as defined in the National
Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) contin-
ued to evade Nigeria. Assuming an efficiency of 15% which is the order
typical of most modern solar PV panels available in the market, this
target generation capacity can be harnessed from 0.0315% of Nigeria
surface area. The projection by the Energy Commission of Nigeria
(ECN) of Nigeria's energy demand based on four possible annual GDP
growth scenarios is shown in Table 3. The percentage of the Nigeria
surface area from which these energy demand projections can be met at
15% efficiency are summarized in graphical form shown in Fig. 1. It is
seen that even the most ambitious projection of energy demand in the
long-term can be met from 3% of Nigeria surface area solely from solar
harnessed at 15% efficiency. The range of magnitude of area needed
(especially for the most realistic 7% growth rate) can probably be
substantially met by rooftops and residential surroundings alone.
The Nigeria's fossil primary energy reserves is shown in Table 4
below. The solar energy equivalence in days of the fossil primary energy
reserves of Nigerian with surface area 923,768 km2 are given in Table 4
based on two conversion standards; Nigeria's Average Irradiance of
223.96 Wm−2 (computed as mean of the means of Nigeria solar
resource given as ranges 3.5–7.0 kW h/m2/day [3] and 3.5–
7.5 kW h/m2/day [4] in Table 2) and Global Average Irradiance of
170 Wm−2. It is seen that based on Nigerian Average solar Irradiance
of 223.96 Wm−2, the insolation received by Nigeria in 36 days is bigger
than the combined fossil primary energy endowment in Natural gas,
Crude oil, Tar sand and Coal and lignite. Also it is seen that 47 days is
more than enough for Nigeria to receive the combined fossil primary
energy endowment based on Global Average Irradiance of 170 Wm−2.
The figures of Solar Equivalence in Table 4 are basically meant to serve
as a reference in understanding the enormity of solar availability when
C.G. Ozoegwu et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

Table 4 4500
Nigeria fossil fuel energy reserve. Yearly global installed CSTP capacity
4000 Cumulative global installed CSTP capacity
Resource Reserves
type 3500
In Energy Solar Equivalent based on Solar Equivalent based

Installed CSTP capacity [MW]

unit Btoe Nigerian Average on Global Average 3000
[4] Irradiance of Irradiance of
223.96 Wm−2 170 Wm−2
2500

Natural gas 4.19 9.8141 days 12.9292 days

Crude oil 5.03 11.7816 days 15.5212 days 2000
Tar sand 4.31 10.0951 days 13.2995 days
Coal and 1.52 3.5602 days 4.6903 days 1500
lignite
Total 15.05 35.2510 46.4401 days 1000

compared with the current mainstay (fossil reserve). Only 9.6578% and
12.7233% of the total Nigerian land area are needed in a year to
intercept solar energy of same magnitude as the total conventional
energy endowment in Natural gas, Crude oil, Tar sand and Coal and
lignite based on the average Irradiance of 223.96 Wm−2 and 170 Wm−2
respectively. Nigeria's renewable energy resources are summarized in
Table 5 in energy terms based on existing data in literature. Solar
Equivalent based on both Nigerian and global Average Irradiance are
also included in Table 5.
7. Past, current and future status of solar integration in
Nigeria
The exact figures for status of solar integration in Nigeria is difficult
to get since information as to capacity, technology type and whether
projects are planned, under construction or completed are normally
lacking. Ohunakin et al. [11] have recently summed Status of solar
integration in Nigeria as follows; off-grid hybrid or grid connected
solar projects do not exist throughout Nigeria, currently all existing
projects are either off-grid light applications of few kWp or stand-alone
mini-grid, and no comprehensive database exist for renewable projects
of various energy stakeholders in Nigeria. Also the data available from
different sources are difficult to harmonize.
7.1. Status of grid-connected solar thermal power
Solar thermal power plants are now being increasingly considered
and deployed for grid-connected electricity generation because of the
obvious benefits which include: (i) it utilizes the heat engine cycles of
500
0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Fig. 2. The trend of global installed CSTP capacity. Data sourced from [14,69,70].
which the science and technology are already well developed over
several centuries of electricity generation from fossil fuel-based power
plants - thus Solar Thermal Power can run on fossil fuels as a back-up
during low or zero solar energy supply, for example, in the night; (ii) it
is less vulnerable to the intermittency of solar radiation because of
possibility for high capacity thermal storage; and (iii) it has lower net
and levelized cost compared to grid-connected solar PV generation.
According to World Energy Council [1], a number of solar thermal
power plants are under construction or in the planning stage in USA
and around the world. The trend from 1984 to 2014 of the cumulative
and yearly global installed Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSTP)
capacity is given in Fig. 2 below. It is seen that the cumulative global
installed capacity have grown from year to year since 1984 except for
the stagnation at 354 MW from 1988 to 2004. The trend for yearly
global addition of installed capacity is also included in the figure to
show that except for the stagnation period yearly addition has largely
grown from year to year since 1984.
The trend of percentage year to year growth rate of cumulative
global installed CSTP capacity is shown in Fig. 3 as trend (a). A data
⎡⎛ x year ⎞ ⎤
point on trend (a) is given as ry2y=100⎢⎜ x ⎟ − 1⎥
⎣⎝ year−1 ⎠ ⎦
where xyear is the cumulative global installed CSTP capacity for a
given Year and subscript year =1984, 1985, 1986,…..2014. It is seen

Table 5
The renewable energy potential of Nigeria.

Resource type Reserves

In Energy Units Solar Equivalent days based on Nigerian Average Solar Equivalent days based on Global Average
Irradiance of 223.96 Wm−2 Irradiance of 170 Wm−2

Small hydropower 110.38PJ/year [3] 0.0062 0.0081

Large hydropower 354.78 PJ/year [3] 0.0198 0.0261
354.31PJ/year [4] 0.0198 0.0261
Solar radiation 3.5–7.0 kW h/m2/day
[3]
3.5–7.5 kW h/m2/day
[4]
Generated Municipal Solid Incineration 157056 TJ in 2012 [23] 0.0088 0.0116
wastes Landfill gas 37275 TJ in 2012 [23] 0.0021 0.0027
Collected Municipal Solid Incineration 65963 TJ in 2012 [23] 0.0037 0.0049
wastes Landfill gas 15656 TJ in 2012 [23] 8.7586 × 10−4 0.0012
Animal manure/dung 450.48PJ in 2011 [3] 0.0252 0.0332
Agric crop residue 697.15TJ in 2010[3] 3.9001× 10−5 5.1381× 10−5
Wind 150,000TJ/yr[3]
Wave and tidal energy 150,000 TJ[4]
1759.6 toe/yr[4]

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C.G. Ozoegwu et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

CO2 emissions per year. Over 1000 jobs created at peak during construction. Currently employs 80 people
Started operation in 2015; 775 acres of Solar field; supplies 80,000 Households; Eliminates 300,000 t of

Started operation in 2011; saving 5000 t of natural gas per year (180,000 t CO2/year); Therminol VP-1 as
(a)
200 (b)
(c)

Started operation in 2011; 1.94 million sq. ft of Solar field; Thermal oil as heat transfer fluid
(d)

150
Percentage (%)

Started operation in 2014; Packed-bed of rocks as Thermal Storage material

100

50

in full-time, long-term, high-paying O & M jobs

0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year

Fig. 3. The trends of growth of Global installed CSTP capacity. (a) % year to year growth
rate, (b)average % growth rate from Year to 2014 (c) % of installed capacity by end of
Year to installed capacity by end of 2014 and (d) % of installed capacity since the
beginning of Year to the end of 2014.

Started operation in 2010

heat transfer fluid

that 2010 to 2012 witnessed rising growths of 38.02%, 46.30% and
61.39% respectively while 2012–2014 witnessed declining growths of
61.39%, 34.31% and 28.47% respectively. An alternative trend for
growth rate is also given as "Average % growth rate from any past Year
Notes

to 2014" in Fig. 3 as trend (b). This trend is useful to highlight the

constant yearly growth rate from any past year of interest to attain the
cumulative global installed CSTP capacity of present (year 2014 in this
Thermal storage

case). Since constant year to year growth is assumed in trend (b) a data

with 5 h heat
molten salts

⎡ 1 ⎤
⎢⎛ x ⎞ 2014− year ⎥

storage
point is given as rpy2cy=100⎢⎜ x2014 ⎟ − 1⎥, meaning that relatively
⎝ year ⎠
⎣ ⎦
low and high yearly addition will cause a rise and fall respectively in
rpy2cy . The trend suggests that there was relatively high yearly addition
ISCC with parabolic

ISCC with parabolic

up to 1988, sustained relatively low yearly addition from 1988 to 2008

Technology Type

parabolic trough

parabolic trough

parabolic trough

(the yearly additions is zero for most of the years) and then relatively
high yearly addition to 2014. In order to indicate the extents the 2014
capacity were attained in the past thus quantifying when most
trough

trough

additions were made trend (c) is added in Fig. 3. Trend (c) is the %
of installed capacity by end of a past Year to installed capacity by end of
2014. It seen from trend (c) that about 8.05%, 35.91%, 57.95% and
Ain Beni Mathar

77.84% of all operational global PV capacity by end of 2014 was

Hassi R’Mel

installed by the end of 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. It seen
Kuraymat
Pofadder

Ait Baha
Location

from trend (d) in Fig. 3 that by the end of 2014, about 91.95%, 64.1%,
42.05% and 22.16% of all operational global PV capacity was installed
The currently operational STPSs in Africa. Summarized from [60].

since the beginning of 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

South Africa

Nigeria till now has zero share in the global solar thermal grid-
Morocco

Morocco
Country

Algeria

connected power generation; the justification for this assertion is

Egypt

presented in what follows. Tian and Zhao included in their work [44]
a review of solar thermal power stations (STPSs) in the world as at the
Capacity (MW)

year 2012 covering the ones which were already operational and the
ones which were under construction. Nigeria and Africa generally did
not feature in their list even though Integrated solar combined-cycle
100

(ISCC) plant in Algeria [59], Integrated Solar Combined-Cycle in

20
20

20

Morocco [60] and Kuraymat Integrated Solar Combined Cycle in

Egypt [61] were operational as at the time of the work. This justifies
Airlight Energy Ait-Baha

that the Past status of Nigeria on grid-connected solar thermal

ISCC Ain Beni Mathar

integration is nil. Most of the currently operational STPSs categorized

ISCC Hassi R'mel
Kaxu Solar One

ISCC Kuraymat

as being under construction in the work are now operational except

Pilot Plant

Ashalim Power Station being constructed in the Negev desert of Israel

to have 121 MW capacity [62]. Construction of some of the currently
Table 6

Name

operational STPSs has not commenced as at the time of the review

hence not mentioned. One such currently operational STPSs which is in

463
C.G. Ozoegwu et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

Africa is Kaxu Solar One [63]. The currently operational STPSs in

Expected to be completed in 2017 (under development); Thermal oil as the Heat-tranfer

Expected to be completed in 2017; 90,000 Households to be supplied; 398,000 t of CO2

Expected to be completed in 2015; 45,000 Households to be supplied; 183,000 t of CO2

Expected to be completed in 2018 (under development); Thermal oil as the Heat-transfer

Expected to be completed in 2018 (under development); Molten salt as Heat-Transfer
Expected to be completed in 2017 (under development); Mineral oil as Heat-Transfer
Africa, summarized in Table 6, do not feature Nigeria justifying the
assertion that the current status of Nigeria on grid-connected solar
thermal power integration is nil. South Africa has more grid-connected
solar thermal power capacity than the rest of the other African players

Expected to be completed in 2017; Molten salt as Heat-Transfer Fluid

even though they (South Africa) are the youngest to achieve an
operational installation.
The STPSs that are under construction or under development in
Africa are listed in Table 7. It is seen from Table 7 that the upcoming
grid-connected solar thermal power capacity of South Africa is
504.5 MW which represents 49.68% of the upcoming capacity of
Africa. South Africa has a renewable energy target of up to
17,800 MW by 2030 [64] thus it is not surprising their significant role
in solar thermal power integration in Africa. The other 50.32% of
upcoming grid-connected solar thermal power capacity of Africa is
emissions to be eliminated per year

emissions to be eliminated per year

Expected to be completed in 2015

Expected to be completed in 2017

Expected to be completed in 2015

contributed by Morocco indicating that Morocco is making meaningful
effort to achieve its national goal of generating 2000 MW from renew-
able energy by 2020 [65]. Nigeria is missing in Table 7 suggesting that
there is no evidence that the immediate future status of Nigeria on
grid-connected solar thermal integration is not bleak.

7.2. Status of grid-connected solar PV power

Notes

Fluid

Fluid

fluid

fluid

Solar PV power generating system is made from network of solar

PV panels. Solar PV panels are rugged, durable, easily maintained and
94.5 h heat storage using molten

easily constructed to supply energy in a wide range that spans micro-

9.3 h heat storage using molten
storage
Molten

Molten

Molten

5 h heat storage using molten

2 h heat storage using molten

with 4.5 h heat storage using
with 12 h heat storage using

watts to megawatts. Also, they are free from dynamic problems

associated with heat engine cycles. These advantages which border
20 min buffer thermal
3 h heat storage using

7 h heat storage using

8 h heat storage using

on technical ease can explain why there have been more installation of
solar PV electricity generating stations in the past several decades than
Thermal storage

the solar thermal stations. In terms of worldwide installed capacity,

molten salts

molten salts

solar PV is the most important source of renewable energy after hydro

and wind power [65]. The usual PV panel types are those based on
salts

salts

salts

salts
Salt

Salt

Salt

crystalline or polycrystalline silicon solar cells and those based on thin-

film cadmium telluride or copper indium gallium diselenide [66].
Currently the former is about four times more popular in the market
Linear Fresnel reflector

than the latter [1]. The disadvantage of occupying space usually quoted
Superheated steam
Technology Type

Parabolic trough

Parabolic trough
parabolic trough

parabolic trough

parabolic trough

parabolic trough

against solar PV power generation has been demonstrated to be

completely avoidable in the sense that solar PV power installation
Power tower

power tower

power tower

can be mounted on the roofs of existing buildings or waste lands. The

The STPSs that are under construction or under development in Africa. Summarized from [60].

Cosmo-Town Kiyomino Saizu which is a smart estate built in Japan to

run on solar PV [67] is a testimony in this regard. Furthermore, BSW-
Solar estimated that about 1 . 5 × 10 6 operational systems have been
Northern Cape

Groblershoop
Postmasburg

installed on residential and commercial rooftops in Germany to

Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate

Benguerir

Upington

Upington
Location

generate electricity that cost less than conventional electricity [68].

Kathu

The World Energy Council [1] affirms that the available statistics on
solar PV installations are patchy and inconsistent. The estimated global
grid-connected PV power capacity by the end of 2010 was 34 GW while
South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

South Africa

the capacity of off-grid capacity was put at 6 GW [71]. The estimated

Morocco

Morocco

Morocco

Morocco
Country

global installed and actual generation capacities at the end of the year
2011 are 68.85 GW and 52 878 GW h respectively [1]. SolarPower
Europe has indicated that global cumulative capacity of PV installation
Capacity (MW)

reached 178 GW in the year 2014 [68]. The trend from 1995 to 2014 of
global installed PV capacity is given in Fig. 4 below. This shows that the
cumulative and yearly global installed capacity have continued to grow
54.5
160

200

150

100

100

100

100
50

markedly from year to year since the inception of REN21 in 2004. The
1

trend of percentage year to year growth rate of cumulative global

IRESEN 1 MWe CSP-ORC pilot

Redstone Solar Thermal Power

installed PV capacity is shown in Fig. 5 as trend (a). It is seen that a net

positive growth occurred from 2004 to 2011 but thereafter there has
been a sustained decrease of year to year growth rate from 75% in 2011
to 42.86% in 2012 to 38% in 2013 and finally to 28.26% in 2014. The
Kathu Solar Park
Xina Solar One

average % growth rate from any past Year to 2014 is shown in Fig. 5 as
Khi Solar One

trend (b). The trend suggests that there was relatively low yearly
project

Bokpoort
NOOR 2

NOOR 3

Plant

Ilanga 1
NOOR I

addition up to 2007 and sustained relative high yearly addition since

Table 7

Name

2009. It seen from trend (c) in Fig. 5 that about 2.1%, 39.55%, 56.5%
and 77.97% of all operational global PV capacity by end of 2014 was

464
C.G. Ozoegwu et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471

180 Table 8
Cumulative global Installed PV capacity The name of the companies, capacity and location of the solar power projects backed by
160 NERC licenses. Sourced from [72].
Yearly global Installed PV capacity
Global Installed PV capacity [GW]

140 Licensee Capacity (MW) State Geopolitical Zone

Rook Solar Investment Limited 50 Osun South-West

120
Quaint Global Nigeria Limited 50 Kaduna North-West
Nigeria Solar Capital Partners 100 Bauchi North-East
100 Anjeed Kafanchan Solar Limited 10 Kaduna North-West
Lloyd and Baxter LP 50 Abuja North-Central
80 KVK Power Pvt Limited 50 Sokoto North-West
Pan African Solar 54 Katsina North-West
60

40 summarized in Table 8 below. The then Honourable Minister of

Environment and Kaduna State Governor officially launched in
20 September 2011 the 50 MW solar farm which the Synergent
Powershare Group of Company was investing in Kaduna state [72].
0 Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Station in Niger State of Nigeria plans to
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
construct a 300 MW PV solar power plant on its existing plant's
Year
premises [73]. The main driver to this plan is that generation capacity
Fig. 4. The trend of global (grid and off-grid) installed PV capacity. Data sourced from traditionally declines during dry seasons and the proposed PV solar
[14,69,70]. installation should make-up for underperformance of the hydro
installation during the off-peak seasons. Quaint Global Energy
100 Solutions and New Horizons Energy Resources plan to establish
50 MW solar power plant in Kaduna State [74]. The New Horizon
90 (a)
Energy Resources have also announced a plan of building a 100 MW
(b)
80 solar plant and 300–400 MW biomass in Nasarawa and Cross river
(c)
states [74].
(d)
70 The Anjeed Kafanchan (15 MW in [75] but 10 MW in Table 8) is a
Percentage (%)

grid-connected solar project located in Kafanchan, Kaduna State which

60
has reached advanced planning stage. Memorandum of Understanding
50 has been signed in 2014 by SkyPower FAS Energy with the Federal
Government of Nigeria and the Delta State Government to construct
40
3000 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects within
30 Nigeria and the Delta State of Nigeria. The project was to be built
over the next five years [76]. In a continued push for clean energy and
20 growth of micro, small, medium scale enterprises, the Delta state
10
Government has very recently - on 3rd of February 2016 - signed
Memorandum of Understanding with Yutal Li Nigeria Limited for
0 construction of a 100 MW solar power plant [77]. A Memorandum of
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Understanding for construction of 3000 MW of solar power has been
Year
signed by Super Solar with the Nigeria [75]. These prospects in the
Fig. 5. The trends of growth of Global installed PV capacity. (a) % year to year growth Nigerian power sector could be traced to the Power Sector Roadmap
rate, (b)average % growth rate from Year to 2014 (c) % of installed capacity by end of introduced by the last administration of the federal government which
Year to installed capacity by end of 2014 and (d) % of installed capacity since the
successful privatized the sector and awarded licenses to more efficient
beginning of Year to the end of 2014.
profit driven players in the sector.

installed by the end of 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. It seen
from trend (d) in Fig. 5 that by the end of 2014, about 97.91%, 60.45%,
43.50% and 22.03% of all operational global PV capacity was installed
since the beginning of 2004, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Nigeria till now has near-zero share in the global grid-connected
solar PV power generation. Recently, a 4 kVA solar PV system was
installed at the department of Mechanical Engineering of the
University of Nigeria (Nsukka Campus) and connected as hybrid
system with the National grid. The system provides power to the
department of 32 academic staff, 4 administrative staff and 550
students. The list of loads supplied by the system during grid power
failure is as follows; all lighting for the department, power to laptops
and desktop computers, projectors for class rooms, photocopiers, a
refrigerator and four desk jet printers. It must be noted that the remote
future of the Nigerian grid-connected solar PV power generation may
not be bleak as a number of investors have as of year 2014 obtained
NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) licenses for
development of various solar PV power projects. The name of the
companies, capacities and locations of the solar power projects are
7.3. Status of off-grid solar integration
Application of solar energy in Nigeria is largely primordial (not
assisted with any form of solar science and technology). The primordial
application is mainly drying for preservation purposes. The items dried
include wet and damp properties (clothing (laundry), furniture etc.),
agricultural food crops, agricultural crop residues, forest biomass and
products of livestock husbandry. Non-primordial applications are in
the form of pilot projects of low-energy capacity scale that includes;
solar street lighting, solar refrigerators, and solar-powered water
pumps. It has been very recently noted in [70] that more than 100
streets are illuminated with solarpowered lighting in the capital of
Nigeria, Abuja. There are 58 solar projects (out of which 50 are tagged "
Solar Based Rural Electrification") undertaken by the Energy
Commission of Nigeria (ECN) as seen from the website [78] of the
Commission. The list has not indicated the status of the projects;
whether planned, still under construction or completed. According to
Muhammad [79] there are 22 communities with combined population
of over 70,000 people enjoying solar electrification in remote areas in

465
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
Table 9
Electricity generation targets in MW from Solar [18].
Activity/Item Year
2015 2020 2030
Solar PV home systems (SHS) 5 10 15
Solar PV water pumping 50 1000 5000
Solar PV community services 45 500 3,000
Solar PV refrigerators 20 500 2000
Solar PV street and traffic lighting 100 1000 10000
Solar PV large-scale PV plants (1 MW capacity) 80 990 9990
Solar thermal electricity (1 MW capacity) 300 2136 18127
Zamfara State of Nigeria.
Under the the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005, the
Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was established to act as an
independent and accountable agency, responsible for the coordination
of rural electrification activities in Nigeria and collecting and main-
taining information on rural renewable resources [80]. The REA say
that 600 projects have been installed without giving information
regarding type of technology, capacity and consumers supplied [72].
Thus the impact of activities of REA on Nigerian status of grid, off-grid
and thermal solar integration cannot be ascertained. NAIJA LIGHT
Solar Electrification Programme (NLSEP)is a RE program of the
Federal Ministry of Environment tasked with sourcing and deploying
alternative and sustainable renewable energy sources to impact posi-
tively on the environment while creating sustainable livelihood for the
rural poor and those most affected by the shortage of electricity and
energy supply in the Country [81]. The Federal Ministry of environ-
ment in partnership with the Indian Government has patented
products under a part of the program called the Renewable Energy
Access Programme (REAP) in three ways: (i) The NAIJA LIGHT Solar
Kits which are handy and portable solar 50 W and 100 W kits equipped
with a light bulb, an outlet for a fan and 10-point mobile phone
charging unit, (ii) NAIJA LIGHT Solar Hair-care Kits which are
300 MW h kits equipped each with two lighting points and a 10-point
mobile phone charging unit. The kits for male saloon owners are
further equipped with an energy efficient dipper while those of female
saloon owners are further equipped with efficient handheld hair dryer
and (iii) NAIJA LIGHT Primary Health Care Solar Kits which are
equipped with a mini freezer for storage of serums and vaccines, two
lighting points and a 10-point mobile phone charging unit for rural
level healthcare delivery. No figures are available as to the extent of
implementation of the program thus nothing can be said about the
impact in improving the status of off-grid solar integration in Nigeria.
By and large there is no certainty around information on status of off-
grid solar integration in Nigeria since as mentioned earlier there is no
comprehensive database for renewable projects of various energy
stakeholders in Nigeria. It is currently not uncommon to see vendors
in Nigeria of made-in-China solar phone chargers. Such simple but
vastly needed solar technologies should be domesticated. Nigeria's
effort in this direction through The national Agency for Science and
Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is commendable. NASENI and
Sokoto Energy Research Centre (SERC) have started production of
solar panels in Nigeria but a lot of work still needs to be done in
development of solar technology equipment, standards for material,
design and equipment manufacture [18]. It is hoped that Nigeria will
tackle this apparent deficiency in off-grid solar integration as one of
her energy policies stipulates that [18]; The nation shall promote the
use of efficient solar energy conversion technologies such as use of PV
and concentrated solar panels for power generation. This policy
statement should be extended to also overtly promote solar for cooking
and heating/cooling applications. At the global level solar energy has
been most harnessed for heating/cooling applications. Cumulative
global installed capacity by the end of 2014 of solar water collectors
466
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
Table 10
The Nigeria solar energy targets for thermal application sector [18].
Application Year
2015 2020 2030
Solar water heaters 4000 60000 150000
Solar cookers 2000 50000 150000
Solar dryers 150 2000 60000
Solar stills 100 3000 2000
Solar pasteurizers 300 4000 10000
is 406 GWth[70].
8. The status of supportive solar policy landscape in Nigerian
and recommendations
Economic analyses of the available power generation technologies
that do not attach heavy costs to negative externalities of fossil fuel-
driven technologies have till today presented solar as least competitive.
This in addition to the stigma of high-risks and initial capital costs
attached to solar investments by financial institutions makes penetra-
tion of solar technology in a free market driven just by demand and
supply impossible. The major way round this problem is through
regulatory and fiscal policy incentives. Implementing such policies
costs governments more but the added costs are overshadowed by such
rationales for RE as encouraging low carbon technology for greenhouse
gas mitigation, expanding investment in RE technologies to create
conducive environment for learning-by-doing and economies of scale
to respectively trigger improving technology and driving down of cost,
and encouraging expansion of renewable distributed power generation
to remote areas isolated by difficult terrain [82].
8.1. The Nigerian solar energy targets and recommendations
Nigeria has RE targets only in the electricity and transport sectors
[83] of her total primary and final energy supply and consumption.
Nigeria has target of 9.74%, 18% and 20% of electricity from renew-
ables by 2015, 2020 and 2030 respectively. The solar energy targets for
the electricity sector are summarized in Table 9. The targets of
electricity from solar alone in the respective years (2015, 2020 and
2030) are 1.26%, 6.92% and 15.27% and the targets of renewable
electricity from solar alone in the respective years are 12.96%, 38.43%
and 76.36% showing that solar progressively dominates in the long-
term. The Nigeria solar energy targets for thermal application sector
are summarized in Table 10. The Nigerian targets for solar thermal as
shown in Table 10 is too dismal to be commended even in the long-
term. For example consider the targets for solar cookers. Suppose each
solar cooker is constructed to cook for five people in line with Saxena
et al. [84] who have noted that a solar cooker may be used for cooking
the meal of five people. Also adopt as [85] a population figure for year
2006 as 140,431,790 and population growth rate as 3.2 per annum.
The population for 2015, 2020 and 2030 respectively becomes
186458723.71, 218263539.47 and 299073660.69. The penetration
level (percentage of the population supplied with solar cooking energy)
of the solar cookers respectively becomes 0.0054%, 0.1145% and
0.2508%. Even though the penetration indicates a rising trend into
the future, the penetration level at the long-term is insignificant and
not reflective of the energy crisis situation in Nigeria especially when
judged against the backdrop that 80% of the population in 2014 are
exposed to health issues meeting their heating and cooking needs at
rural level by open-air combustion of traditional biomass and waste
resources. Moreover solar box cookers are best suited to the economic
situation of developing countries due to low cost of maintenance and
lowest cost of manufacturing [84]. Thus upward review of the solar
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
thermal targets is strongly recommended. Nigerian target for the
transport sector is embodied in the E10 policy. The mandate of E10
policy requires blending up to 10% fuel ethanol with gasoline [86].
8.2. The existing policy incentives and recommendations
The global RE policy landscape has grown since early 2000s and has
penetrated 138, 144 and 154 countries at the end of 2013, as of early
2014 and as of early 2015 respectively [14,70]. Nigeria has existing
plans for national RE policies. The revised edition of the draft of the
Nigerian Renewable Energy Masterplan (REMP) dated November 2012
lists the economic and financial incentives proffered to specifically
reduce the initial high cost of investment in renewables in order to
stimulate enhanced penetration in the nation's energy supply mix. The
targets, supportive and regulatory policies for RE and mandates
proffered in the REMP are not yet binding as it (REMP) still has to
be approved by the National Assembly and signed into law by the
Executive. However the National Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency Policy (NREEEP) which was developed by the FMP
(Federal Ministry of Power) in 2013/14 has been approved by the
Federal Executive Council in May 2015 and thus presumably stands in
for the REMP [75] as a binding document. The targets for solar
electricity under the NREEEP are 117, 1343 and 6831 MW [87] by
2015, 2020 and 2030 respectively. These targets are based on the most
realistic 7% GDP growth scenario. In an effort to support, promote and
incentivize the entry of renewable energy in Nigeria, the policy
document [87] has empowered the relevant Ministries, Departments
and Agencies of Federal Government of Nigerian to adopt and develop
any of the following listed policy, regulations and economic instru-
ments;
i. Mandatory or voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)
ii. Generation Disclosure Requirement (GDR)
iii. Power Production Tax Credit (PTC)
iv. Feed-in tariffs (FIT)
v. The adoption of a Public Benefits Fund (PBF)
vi. Bidding rounds through national renewable energy independent
power producer procurement program
vii. Provision of capital grants, tax holidays and exemptions and other
incentives for RE projects
viii. Net metering framework.
According to the [70], RE support policies which are in place in
Nigeria are (1) Feed-in tariff /premium payment, (2) Capital subsidy,
grant, or rebate, (3) Reductions in sales, energy, CO2, VAT, or other
taxes, (4) Public investment, loans, or grants, (5) Biofuels obligation/
mandate. With the exclusion of item (5), the essential elements
including the barriers and recommendations of the policies are
discussed in what follows;
a) Feed-in tariffs: They are premium payments meant to guarantee
reasonable returns to producers from investments in new and RE
power generation technologies. FITs are normally planned to be
higher for costlier RE power technologies; for example, the FITs
laid down in Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) II by the NERC
assigns ₦92192 and ₦33433 per MWh to solar PV plants and land-
mounted wind power plants respectively for the year 2016. The
allocation of the FITs is in recognition of higher levelized cost of the
former. But this relatively very high FIT for solar PV plants has
become a total barrier as NBET (Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading)
Plc has continued to decline the tariff till date and into the future
[75]. Also the rationale behind economies of scale would entail
higher FITs for smaller technologies; it is not clear whether this has
been obeyed in the formulation of the FIT for renewable power in
Nigeria especially solar power. Success of FITs is mainly hinged on
the provisions of guaranteed grid access, long-term contracts and
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
cost-based purchase prices [88]. Even though grid access is
promised in NREEEP, [75] has noted that FITs as stipulated by
NERC in MYTO II has not given priority access to electricity from
renewable energies and has not made provision for compensation
for electricity produced but cannot be sold due to the lack of priority
access. Solar power can only penetrate grid-connected solar power
if the identified problems are solved. Power Purchasing Agreement
is only reached between NBET and a renewable power producer
only after a successful six-step onerous process [75]. Since levelized
cost of solar power is currently the highest and solar energy is the
supreme source for long-term power, it would not be out of place to
consider preferential lessening of the process in favour of solar
power. Since very high FIT is the major encumbrance to success of
solar power in Nigeria, the Government may consider subsidizing
the FIT for solar power to the distribution grid investors. This
would help mitigate the basic disadvantage normally quoted against
FITs that they tend to slope electricity rates upwards. The govern-
ment may consider re-investing part of their returns from partial
removal of fuel subsidy in this most sustainable direction. The
Government must enforce the provisions of guaranteed grid access,
long-term contracts and cost-based purchase prices particularly in
the FIT policy of solar power. Recommendations on FITs are strong
since FITs have proven to have had the highest impact in promoting
solar technology in the European Union [20] particularly Germany
and Italy.
b) Capital subsidy, grant, or rebate: Government plans to provide the
minor portion of the funds needed to support investments in
renewable electricity while creating a conducive climate for major-
ity of the funds to come from foreign investment capital. A perusal
of the document [87] for the keywords subsidy, grant and rebate
reveals the Government's actions to support RE investment. Nigeria
has committed in the NREEEP document [87] to the strategy of
facilitating Renewable Energy Financing by creating a conducive
atmosphere for fiscal incentives, subsidies to alleviate up-front
costs, tax and duty exemptions for prospective investors in the
renewable energy sub-sector. Subsidy is given as any or combina-
tion of such incentives as investment grants, capacity payments (or
capital subsidies), production based payments and soft loans.
Provision is made in the document for soft loans and special low
interest loans from power sector development fund for renewable
energy supply and energy efficiency projects. The Government, as
part of key strategies for Renewable Energy Financing, is to provide
a significant percentage of the nation's revenues from the privatiza-
tion of Nigeria's PHCN infrastructure to local communities as
grants for investment in renewable energy projects. Additional
key strategy is providing grants to local governments and commu-
nities to support renewable energy planning and implementation
projects and adoption of community-based renewable energy
processes. Regarding participation of international Donors and
NGO's, the strategy is to liaise/work with the Federal Ministry of
Power and fund demonstration renewable energy projects and
renewable energy feasibility studies through provision of grants
and donations. One of the strategies Government has specifically
designed to accelerate gains in efficiency is creating an energy
efficiency fund to be managed by the Federal Ministry of Power or
its appointed agent to provide rebates to on-grid customers who
implement substantive changes in their equipment to gain effi-
ciency. The shortcoming of the above listed commitments of the
Government to support investments in RE is lack of obligatory
quantitative figures. This shortcoming should be addressed espe-
cially for solar power investments. Examples of subsidy policies that
do not suffer such deficiency are that of the Spanish government
which on launching the program to provide grants to solar thermal
technologies in year 2000 committed to support grants in the range
of €240.40/m2 to €310.35/m2 and that of the Indian Government
on capital subsidies of Rs.1500, Rs1250 and Rs2000 per square
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
meter for solar hot water systems, solar cooking systems and
concentrating solar cookers respectively [20]. Nigeria could borrow
a leaf from other countries that are already successful in driving
solar power integration with subsidies and grants. Solangi et al.
[89] have noted the success of utility-scale solar thermal power in
Australia due to the Solar Flagships program - a subsidy program
which supports construction and demonstration of large-scale solar
power stations (with AU$1.6 billion) to grow over 6-years to the
target of 1000 MW. India provides a very veritable platform for
Nigeria to emulate support for solar power via subsidies and grants;
India learned from experience that capacity-based capital subsidies
do not guarantee targeted output and in response instituted
production-based subsidy which became successful enough that
the Government began a highly supportive subsidy program for
remote village electrification programs via solar PV and solar
thermal projects. Typical program under the remote village elec-
trification programs noted by [20] is 90% subsidy for establishing a
single light solar PV system in all non-electrified villages in India by
2012 and the subsidy becomes full (100%) when the families are
below poverty line. As noted earlier only grid customers who
implement substantive changes in their equipment to gain effi-
ciency were mentioned to be favored by rebate policy designed by
the Nigerian Government. It is advisable that rebate policy be
expanded to also cover solar power and thermal investments. Some
examples which would help Nigeria get a rebate model suited to her
circumstances includes the models in South Africa and United
States. South Africa had original rebate system called Eskom
rebates for solar water heaters (SWHs) or solar geysers which
favored both imported and locally manufactured systems. In effort
towards localisation of component manufacturing and job creation
by way of installation and maintenance, the Eskom rebates have
been revised to intensify the incentive in favour of high-pressure
systems manufactured with up to 70%local technology (the ulti-
mate aim for the future is to favour only the stipulated minimum
technology) [90]. The rebate policies in the USA are mainly
adoptions by a number of states. California re-designed its rebate
system to encourage supply of late-day power demand from solar
PV power generation by providing rebates to installation of west-
facing systems (produce more energy during peak demand hours)
15% higher than the typical installation of south-facing panels
(produce more energy over the course of a year) [91,92]. Other USA
states with functional rebate programs for integration of SWHs are
Massachusetts and Minnesota. To stimulate demand for solar PV
systems, the government of Melbourne in Australia offers rebates to
businesses for the purchase and installation of such systems [70].
c) Public investment: The electricity market (generation, transmission
and distribution) in Nigeria was monopolized by the Government
under the legal framework of Electricity and National Electric
Power Authority (NEPA) Acts. The monopoly was operated through
NEPA. The transition of the market to the current level of
privatization started with reform processes that ultimately culmi-
nated in enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act
(EPSRA) in 2005 which provided the legal basis for the unbundling
of NEPA and the eventual privatization of the successor companies
to NEPA. Currently, the generation and distribution sectors of the
Nigerian electricity market are fully privatized and the transmission
sector which has been under concession is being unbundled and
privatized [75]. In continued drive towards full privatization of
electricity industry, the Government commits in the legal document
[87] to ensure that the renewable electricity power supply to rural
areas will be driven by Nigerian private sector (though possibility
for public-private partnership project models was thrown open)
while the Federal Government will provide the framework and the
financial guarantee for implementing the framework by further
strengthening existing mechanism for accessing rural electrification
funds or such other fund as may be established for that purpose.
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
Even though the Government's plans for full privatization of power
sector is consistently clear and somewhat justified by the benefits of
envisaged profitable management of the sector by the private
investors, the need for Public investment to surmount the inertia
of electricity market in accepting a seemingly less economically
competitive option but nonetheless the most sustainable in the
long-term like solar power sector (especially for rural electrifica-
tion) cannot be overemphasized. Therefore it must be noted that
creating a conducive policy atmosphere devoid of direct
Government involvement in form of public investments will not
be sufficient to trigger growth in off-grid solar power supply to the
rural areas. It must be noted that the Nigerian Government already
has pilot projects executed by REA as feasibility studies on using
renewable electricity power generation for remote and off-grid
areas. Nigeria should grow beyond demonstration projects to
ambitious public investments in solar power to bring electricity to
majority of her isolated rural dwellers. A leaf can be borrowed from
successes recorded by China and others in this regard. The China's
Brightness Program was launched in 2000 to supply by 2010 two
thousand three hundred Mega Watts of electricity to 23 million
people in remote areas from wind, solar PV, wind/PV hybrid and
wind/PV/diesel hybrid systems [20].
d) Tax incentives: The document [87] provides a legal basis for
introduction of tax holidays and exemptions for RE projects,
Power Production Tax Credit (PTC) to renewable electricity gen-
eration companies, tax credits to companies who produce energy
efficiency appliances and lighting together with the home owners
who install such appliances and fixtures, tax and duty exemptions
for prospective investors in the renewable energy sub-sector,
making tax deductible expenditure on result oriented research
and development in the renewable energy and energy efficiency
sector, and exempting income tax or duty from the revenue
generated through trade in carbon credit. In order to promote wide
spread use of renewable energy and energy efficient equipment and
their accessories tax incentives provided in the document include;
(i) five year tax holiday for manufacturers from date of commence-
ment of manufacturing and (ii) five year tax holiday on dividend
incomes from investments on domestic renewable energy sources.
Tax and duty incentives were also extended to importers of energy
efficient appliances and lighting by way of exemption from excise
duty and sales tax. The exemption duty is in the form of free custom
duty for two (2) years on the importation of equipment and
materials used in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
The quantified commitments of the Government on tax exemption
are commendable but relevant quantified commitments are lacking
on the tax credits.
8.3. Additional policy discussions and recommendations
Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and Net Metering are not in
place in Nigeria as regulatory RE policies [70] but they are open for
adoption by the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of
Federal Government by virtue of the legal policy document [87]. RPS is
a mandate/obligation that requires specified parties (consumers,
suppliers and generators) to attain a minimum target for RE consump-
tion, supply or generation. The zero status of grid-connected solar
integration in Nigeria would suggest that the Nigerian power sector is
not yet mature to pursue ambitious solar integration through this
policy instrument as it will be difficult for suppliers to effect needed
expansion/hybridization of existing utilities and there are no available
utilities that are abundantly renewable beyond target to trade renew-
able energy certificates or tradable green certificates. But small scale
RPS would be recommended to existing power investments to expose
the players to learning-by-doing. Since massive deployment of electric
power utilities is expected in Nigeria to meet the present and future
demand, the Government should institute RPS for new projects and
C.G. Ozoegwu et al.
make it tenable for investors by implementing supportive fiscal
incentives like investment tax credit. Many countries can serve as a
model for Nigeria in this regard because as of early 2015, RPS or quota
policies were in place at the national level in 26 countries which include
China, Israel, and United Kingdom [70]. United States has had ample
experience on RPS policies at the state/provincial levels. Nigeria should
also consider mandates/obligations targeted at solar systems for new
and massively renovated buildings. The solar systems are for on-site
supply of part or all of energy needed in a building; in the form of
passive solar or Building Integrated Photovoltaics designs. Obligations
of this nature on solar water heating are already in place in Israel since
the 1980s and in Barcelona since 1999 [20]. Nigeria has massive
potential to benefit from this kind of obligation (Even if only a small
fraction of new buildings are supplied with solar energy) because of the
following reasons; Nigeria has an estimated housing deficit of 17
million as of August 2012, estimated annual addition of 700,000
houses to keep up with demand (actual addition stood below
100,000) [93] and massive population that grows at high rate.
Implementing this recommendation will contribute to changing the
way people think about conventional sources of energy and solar
energy [1]. In the meantime that privatization in the Nigerian power
sector has not yielded the expected fast rise in electric power genera-
tion, the system of net metering and net billing could be advocated with
emphasis on solar PV power generation for large to small scale
businesses and domestic residencies; On-site renewable power gen-
eration and net billing could even be made more attractive with
appropriate feed-in policies. For example Japan has recorded success
in PV power generation as a result of successfully managed set of
policies that include net metering [94]. As of early 2015, Net metering
or net billing policies were in force in 48 countries [70]. Dubai is
worthy of emulation in this regard as it has established a solar rooftop
net metering program and has adopted a comprehensive legislative
framework to allow surplus solar PV power to be injected into the grid
by any customer [70]. The recent removal of fixed charges in Nigerian
electricity billing system, effective from February 1 of 2016, is
beneficial for Net metering as it forms a basis for one to only pay for
the utility power consumed. The basic barrier to Net metering is poor
circulation of meters and consequent widespread system of estimated
bills that makes the masses feel shortchanged by power suppliers. This
has been the root to stiff resistance by civil societies, labour unions and
trade organizations against the rise in electricity tariff that came with
removal of fixed charges. This stiff resistance is a potential impediment
to FIT policy in favour of solar power.
The recommendations that follow are based on the pre-existing
Nigerian laws which are supportive to private investment but never
envisaged or mentioned investments in renewable power. It is known
that solar by virtue of its universal availability has been highlighted as
the sustainable resource for distributed power supply to isolated
localities. It is recommended that solar power investments to supply
electricity to such localities be accorded "pioneer status" which confers
a seven year tax holiday to industries located in economically dis-
advantage local areas of Nigeria. The legal provision for pioneer status
is contained in the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission Act,
Cap 117 No. 16 of 1995, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. An
additional incentive for such solar power investments under this act is
that Government should grant 20% of cost of such facilities as tax
deductible. Solar power facilities supplying electricity to such isolated
localities qualify for this incentive and even more because they provide
electricity where it does not exist thus relieving the Government of the
responsibility. Under another legal framework Companies Income Tax
Act, Cap 60, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 Act, Cap C21,
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (2004) there is provision for fiscal
incentive called Rural Development Allowance [5]. Rural Development
Allowance is to be paid on top of an initial allowance to a company
whose activities results in development (in form of amenities like
electricity, water, tarred road and telephone coverage) of rural areas
469
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 70 (2017) 457–471
not closer than 20 km to such facilities provided by the Government.
This incentive should be promoted to favour and attract large scale
grid-connected solar power investments which need such amenities to
function and thus carry them (the amenities) along to the rural areas
where large expanses of land needed are available. It is worthy of note
the recommendation by Shaaban and Petinrin [3] that hybrid micro-
grid system is suitable for power supply to remote and impoverished
rural communities of Nigeria. They highlighted the importance of solar
PV as a component but not as sole source in micro-grid systems.
9. Conclusion
Nigeria is a country in energy crises and energy starvation thus
must seize the opportunity offered by nature in the form of the freely
and universally available solar energy. Based on this premise, the status
of solar integration in Nigeria is thoroughly reviewed and concluded to
be deplorable. Worse still is the case of grid-connected solar power
integration with zero status. The near zero status in general solar
integration is a far cry from the fact that Nigeria has in place supportive
RE policies and legal frameworks. This is suggestive of the opinion that
the problem is a fallout of poor implementation of the existing
provisions. This study X-rayed the NREEEP document recently ap-
proved by the Government in May 2015 to highlight its provisions for
supportive RE policies. The policies and some potentially supportive
pre-existing legal frameworks together with the Nigeria's RE targets
were discussed paving way for the suggested recommendations on how
to improve the current dismal status of solar integration. Thus, if the
Government can guarantee implementation of the existing provisions
and security - especially to potential foreign investors - the very low
state of solar integration guarantees that solar power and thermal
industry is a firsthand investment opportunity. The windows of
opportunities include; solar power generation, manufacture of solar
panels (NASENI already working in this direction but their capacity
alone cannot meet with demand of Nigeria's vast population), capacity
building in the field of solar energy technologies, supply of renewable
energy equipment and accessories and contracts in solar energy
projects.
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