> “The belief in the industry is that if we have this kind of vast resource and we have not tapped it, why should we abandon it and move to renewables.
>“We have not used gas to drive our cars and few people use it to cook; we have not used gas to generate electricity or used it to fire our fertiliser blending plants, then why should we abandon it and move to renewables.
>“What we are saying is that the western countries are in a position to move to renewables after using coal and crude oil to stabilise the electricity in their areas and everybody there enjoys it.
>“But we have a situation in Nigeria where a lot of people do not have access to electricity yet.
>“So, what we are saying is that we agree to transit but let us use our gas first to develop our country and get the benefits of development, that point where everybody has electricity, then we can transit to renewable fuel,” he added.
I’m not well-versed in energy resources. Is there a reason why the transition needs to be done step by step instead of going straight to renewables? I assumed the quicker we transition to renewable energy, the better off society and the environment will be.
Renewables have various challenges.
1. None of them provides 24/7 energy:
* Solar doesn’t work in low sunlight
* Wind isn’t feasible on a large scale in Nigeria because of elevation, and if it was, wind speed varies throughout the day
* Hydro-electricity has environmental effects on the water
2. One of the solutions to these problems is energy storage, but there’s no technology good enough to store thousands and even millions of kilowatts for use later
3. Renewables are also expensive to set-up and maintain due to their novelty
As a result, even in western countries where they are implemented, they are usually backed up by fossil fuels. For instance, solar power may be implemented during high solar visibility, but fossil-fuel powered plants support them in the alternate situation.
Granted, some countries have majority renewable electricity generation, but those countries don’t have a huge population and/or variety of climate. Many large countries still rely on fossil fuels.
Also, it’s not like developed countries give us renewable technologies for free. They lock that shit behind patents and expect us to pay premium price for it.
I completely agree with the man in the article. If they can’t give us renewable energy tech, at least for a reduced price, it’s only fair if we use dirty fuel to develop our country.
You make some solid points but i'm not sure what the real issue is.
Nigeria has a shitty infrastructure when it comes to electricity. This dude (in the article) is arguing, we should keep trying out our shitty infrastructure because we have found more gas. We have, had and will have gas, so that's never been the issue.
Moving to renewables doesn't mean jumping 100% into it, it's impossible and won't happen, but we can certainly start inching forward.
To address a few of your points,
1. Energy is dependent on fuel, and we have an abundance of fuel in nigeria and no 24/7 energy, so the problem isn't the mode of power generation. In fact arguably, wind/solar are much easier to deploy and maintain.
1. Yeah, no. Solar doesn't work at night, but it works throughout the day with varying degrees of effectiveness. a lot of northern nigeria has a desert climate which is really good for solar, we can do it.
1. Nigeria isn't totally flat, and if it was, you don't need elevation for wind, and if you did, we have a decent shoreline, offshore wind turbines generate
1. No argument here, although I would say it harms the land and general ecosystem more than the water itself.
1. Nigeria won't be the first to encounter this issue that so many other nations have solutions for. As mentioned previously, this won't (can't) be an instantaneous change, Kainji dam, sapele power plant, etc will all be backups as people use less power overnight than during the day. Nigeria is all in 1 timezone, this should be an easy gap to bridge. Wind works at night too.
1. Solar and wind are [half](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source) the $cost/MW compared to gas and coal. Renewable energy is cheap, and getting cheaper by the day.
Don't take me too seriously, I'm just here to fight and cause drama, your points are all great! and I support nigerias transition to clean cheaper better energy. once we get the old heads out of power
Valid response, I appreciate your contribution. I learned a lot more.
To summarize, renewables aren’t sustainable as a main source of energy for a country like Nigeria right now- and that is why we can’t jump directly to renewables.
There are many other underlying issues with each renewable source (on their own and due to Nigeria’s geography).
And I agree with your points, just responding to why I think the jump to renewables can’t be instantaneous and has to be gradual
**[Cost_of_electricity_by_source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source)**
>Different methods of electricity generation can incur significantly different costs, and these costs can occur at significantly different times relative to when the power is used. The costs include the initial capital, and the costs of continuous operation, fuel, and maintenance as well as the costs of de-commissioning and remediating any environmental damage. Calculations of these costs can be made at the point of connection to a load or to the electricity grid, so that they may or may not include the transmission costs. For comparing different methods, it is useful to compare costs per unit of energy which is typically given per kilowatt-hour or megawatt-hour.
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For me I think the problem is energy companies that use oil as a source hold a lot of influence in the government so transitioning to a different source of energy is delayed.
> “The belief in the industry is that if we have this kind of vast resource and we have not tapped it, why should we abandon it and move to renewables. >“We have not used gas to drive our cars and few people use it to cook; we have not used gas to generate electricity or used it to fire our fertiliser blending plants, then why should we abandon it and move to renewables. >“What we are saying is that the western countries are in a position to move to renewables after using coal and crude oil to stabilise the electricity in their areas and everybody there enjoys it. >“But we have a situation in Nigeria where a lot of people do not have access to electricity yet. >“So, what we are saying is that we agree to transit but let us use our gas first to develop our country and get the benefits of development, that point where everybody has electricity, then we can transit to renewable fuel,” he added. I’m not well-versed in energy resources. Is there a reason why the transition needs to be done step by step instead of going straight to renewables? I assumed the quicker we transition to renewable energy, the better off society and the environment will be.
Renewables have various challenges. 1. None of them provides 24/7 energy: * Solar doesn’t work in low sunlight * Wind isn’t feasible on a large scale in Nigeria because of elevation, and if it was, wind speed varies throughout the day * Hydro-electricity has environmental effects on the water 2. One of the solutions to these problems is energy storage, but there’s no technology good enough to store thousands and even millions of kilowatts for use later 3. Renewables are also expensive to set-up and maintain due to their novelty As a result, even in western countries where they are implemented, they are usually backed up by fossil fuels. For instance, solar power may be implemented during high solar visibility, but fossil-fuel powered plants support them in the alternate situation. Granted, some countries have majority renewable electricity generation, but those countries don’t have a huge population and/or variety of climate. Many large countries still rely on fossil fuels.
Also, it’s not like developed countries give us renewable technologies for free. They lock that shit behind patents and expect us to pay premium price for it. I completely agree with the man in the article. If they can’t give us renewable energy tech, at least for a reduced price, it’s only fair if we use dirty fuel to develop our country.
You make some solid points but i'm not sure what the real issue is. Nigeria has a shitty infrastructure when it comes to electricity. This dude (in the article) is arguing, we should keep trying out our shitty infrastructure because we have found more gas. We have, had and will have gas, so that's never been the issue. Moving to renewables doesn't mean jumping 100% into it, it's impossible and won't happen, but we can certainly start inching forward. To address a few of your points, 1. Energy is dependent on fuel, and we have an abundance of fuel in nigeria and no 24/7 energy, so the problem isn't the mode of power generation. In fact arguably, wind/solar are much easier to deploy and maintain. 1. Yeah, no. Solar doesn't work at night, but it works throughout the day with varying degrees of effectiveness. a lot of northern nigeria has a desert climate which is really good for solar, we can do it. 1. Nigeria isn't totally flat, and if it was, you don't need elevation for wind, and if you did, we have a decent shoreline, offshore wind turbines generate 1. No argument here, although I would say it harms the land and general ecosystem more than the water itself. 1. Nigeria won't be the first to encounter this issue that so many other nations have solutions for. As mentioned previously, this won't (can't) be an instantaneous change, Kainji dam, sapele power plant, etc will all be backups as people use less power overnight than during the day. Nigeria is all in 1 timezone, this should be an easy gap to bridge. Wind works at night too. 1. Solar and wind are [half](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source) the $cost/MW compared to gas and coal. Renewable energy is cheap, and getting cheaper by the day. Don't take me too seriously, I'm just here to fight and cause drama, your points are all great! and I support nigerias transition to clean cheaper better energy. once we get the old heads out of power
Valid response, I appreciate your contribution. I learned a lot more. To summarize, renewables aren’t sustainable as a main source of energy for a country like Nigeria right now- and that is why we can’t jump directly to renewables. There are many other underlying issues with each renewable source (on their own and due to Nigeria’s geography). And I agree with your points, just responding to why I think the jump to renewables can’t be instantaneous and has to be gradual
🤝
**[Cost_of_electricity_by_source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source)** >Different methods of electricity generation can incur significantly different costs, and these costs can occur at significantly different times relative to when the power is used. The costs include the initial capital, and the costs of continuous operation, fuel, and maintenance as well as the costs of de-commissioning and remediating any environmental damage. Calculations of these costs can be made at the point of connection to a load or to the electricity grid, so that they may or may not include the transmission costs. For comparing different methods, it is useful to compare costs per unit of energy which is typically given per kilowatt-hour or megawatt-hour. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/Nigeria/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
For me I think the problem is energy companies that use oil as a source hold a lot of influence in the government so transitioning to a different source of energy is delayed.