Niger Delta lights up: Voyage to clean energy in oil-rich region

“The clear and present danger of climate change means we cannot burn our way to prosperity. We already rely too heavily on fossil fuels and we need to find a new, sustainable path to the future we want. We need a clean industrial revolution.”

Ban Ki Moon, former UN secretary-general, eloquently stressed these words back in 2011, during his address on the east coast of South Africa.

Now, more than a decade later, the echoes of his words are relevant once again as Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, home to some of the country’s most prolific oil fields, diversifies to renewable energy as a way of dealing with frequent power cuts.

For instance, prior to 2020, residents of Oloibiri, the community were Shell first struck oil in commercial quantity in 1958-depended on a fossil fuel generator that was donated by an illustrious son of the community for power.

Having lived without electricity for more than 15 years, the donation brought relief to them, but their joy was limited as they had few supplies and were paying 2,000 naira a month for the men and 500 naira for the women for diesel fuel.

It only lasted 12 hours from 6pm to 6am.

Godswill Asa, a community member, said, Even after making the donation, we can only use electricity at night to save on diesel fuel, so we felt like it was a burden.

”The only time the generator runs day and night is when there is a wedding or funeral, which usually lasts a week.

Anyone celebrating had to make sure there was enough diesel.

Soon, local residents stopped donating diesel and the generator was abandoned.

The community was in constant darkness, except for families who had their own generators.

But in 2020, things took a turn for the better when Renewvia Energy Corporation erected 67.32KW solar hybrid mini-grids in the town as part of the Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP).

The objective was to increase corporate productivity by substituting dependable electricity for lanterns, generators, and candles, and to supply clean, safe, and reasonably priced electricity to community members who had not been linked to the national electricity grid.

According to Chris Ebiware, Country Manager for Renewvia Energy in West Africa, the company conducted a feasibility study in 2016 on 25 communities across 4 states, including Bayelsa.

He said that the company found Oloibiri during the site identification process and learned that the hamlet had not received dependable power since its founding.

Oloibiri is not the only community getting a face lift in the Niger Delta.

Role of Nigerian Electrification Project

In order to provide families, public schools, and companies that are not linked to the national electricity grid with more access to electricity through renewable power sources, the federal government created the Nigerian Electrification Project in 2018.

The World Bank ($350 million) and the African Development Bank ($200 million) provided funding to the Nigerian government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the NEP’s implementing agency, to help with its implementation.

While the Solar Hybrid Mini Grids Component, one of the NEP’s programs assisted with the construction of private sector mini-grids in underserved parts of Nigeria with the goal of electrifying 30,000 local businesses and 300,000 households.

Under the Solar Hybrid Mini Grids Component, there was the Performance-Based Grant (PBG) sub-component which had a total available fund of $48 million disbursed to qualified mini-grid developers/firms on a first come first served basis, up until the available funds are exhausted.

One of the localities that benefited from the PBG was Oloibiri. It was projected to link an estimated 364 households, develop the infrastructure, and generate jobs during construction as well as long-term employment.

Renewvia Energy Corporation reportedly underwent the four stages of the PBG program’s application and approval procedures, including the qualification stage, the site-specific technical application stage, the signing of the grant agreement, and the verification and disbursement, just like other businesses managing the various components, according to REA.

After two years, Oloibiri inhabitants are still fascinated by the solar system. There is a 24-hour supply. For homes that need to constantly recharge in order to have power, the firm has provided meters.

Findings showed Oloibiri is now buzzing with activity thanks to the initiative, which has brought in industries such as dry cleaning and welding.

The community generator is no longer discussed. Asa was forced to sell his own generator since he was no longer in need of it. He pays N2000 to N3000 a month to have his metre recharged.

Asa remarked, “I have been enjoying the light ever since it came.” “I hope the government can address the issue of inadequate electricity supply by expanding the same project to other communities.”

Anthonia Deezua, who runs a provision store in the village and offers cool beverages, is especially excited about the solar system. Compared to when she utilized her generator, she now makes more money.

While some company owners, like Deezua, spend as much as N4000 a month, others only need to pay N300 or N500 to recharge their meters, which typically lasts three to five days.

Renewvia Energy’s Oloibiri site manager, Azibasamari Amadi, stated that the duration of each subscription is contingent upon the family usage levels.

He clarified that following the project’s commissioning, the business conducted energy-saving awareness seminars for local residents, educating them on how to turn off lights, fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other electrical equipment when not in use.

On how users pay, he said that the company entered a partnership with Paga, a mobile payment company which enables people to digitally send and receive money.

“Paga has an application that allows users to pay for power by selecting the company name and inputting their metre number and the amount they want to subscribe after which they send and have light “he explained.

With new installations, findings showed Renewvia Solar Nigeria Ltd. now serves over 10,000 individuals and businesses through thousands of metered connections in eight communities in the Niger Delta.

The five new communities are Balep, Bendeghe-Afi, Ekong Anaku, Opu, and Emeroke are located in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

Other communities already connected to a Renewvia mini-grid include Akipelia in Bayelsa State and Obokwu Ozuzu in Rivers State, also in the Niger Delta region.

Egbeke Community

The residents stated that Green Village Electricity was not providing service to all five of the villages that make up the community of Egbeke after implementing a 6.8 kw PV solar based pilot project in 2012.

The project, according to the company, was intended to field test the commercial and technical viability of adopting renewable energy for off-grid rural electrification in Egbeke, one of the communities in Rivers State.

It was not able to power refrigerators, pump water, or operate electric irons for the community. Streetlights were run by it, and it operated exclusively during the day. It always went off at night.

After Green Village Electricity implemented a 6.8kw PV solar based pilot project which according to the company was aimed at field testing the technical and commercial viability of adopting renewable energy for off-grid rural electrification in Egbeke, one of the communities in Rivers State in 2012, it was not serving the entire five villages that together make up the community, the people stated.

Community members could not use it to pump water, power their fridges or use electric iron. It only worked during the day and powered streetlights. At night, it always went off.

Umuode, the community that owned the property where the solar electricity was installed, was one of the settlements that was cut off from the outside world. Umuagwu, the village whose people were said to have had first contact with the company, decided who to give light and who not to give. No meters were present.

Chucks Nkwo, a leader in Umuode, told The ICIR, “Because of that, many of us did not have access to power, except those who wanted to do illegal connections.” “Our people protested and shut down the site because they felt marginalized.”

After receiving the PBG under the FG’s NEP, the company returned six years later in 2018 and upgraded the project, relocating it from its previous location to the community’s market square, which has adequate space to support the upgrades. Egbeke received a 55KW mini grid from it.

Residents of the five villages—Umuagwu, Umuode, Umuayim, Umuokwu, and Umuoko—now have access to electricity, which they use for a variety of commercial purposes. Meters were given to households, and they were always recharged.

Way forward

Averagely, only 45% of Nigerians are connected to the energy grid, with a concentration on the urban areas.

Energy sector reforms have seen the need to extend this accessibility to rural areas. There is no doubt that the present energy crisis will continue to happen if the government does not change the energy sources and adopt new sustainable sources.

Experts said the advent of Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) has laid emphasis on the need for a safe and sound environment for individuals.

They said renewable energy sources guarantee a lifeline in this transition, providing a means to power our lives without leaving a carbon footprint.

The Nigerian government has plans to ensure universal access to energy by 2030 in line with SDG 7 and also increase the access of Nigerians to affordable and clean energy. The country is positioned to develop a sustainable energy system backed by energy-efficient and renewable resources to realize affordable access to energy.

Ademola Agunbanjo, the Vice president of Oando Clean Energy, said that Africa as a continent must embrace a green energy transition while leveraging the opportunity to close the existing energy gap.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Paris Agreement adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. This has necessitated Nigeria to adopt a policy to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The country has also recognized that transitioning to low-emission development is non-negotiable for sustainable economic growth.

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