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Global anthropogenic activities resulting in the emission of harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere have increased the challenges faced from climate change. The greater awareness of the need to mitigate climate variability has brought about intense focus on the adverse impacts of fossil-fuel based energy on the environment. Being the single largest source of carbon emissions, energy supply has attracted much attention and more so that, climate change impacts extend beyond national boundaries. Since energy use is sine qua non to economic development, scientists have reiterated the necessity of developing and utilising renewable energy. Although, past and present CO 2 emissions have and are majorly caused by industrialized countries, it is envisaged that future GHGs emissions would be mostly from developing countries as they industrialize. Renewable energy sources that include biomass, hydroelectric, wind, solar and hydrothermal systems, are carbon-neutral, releasing relatively no emissions. This paper discusses the initiatives associated with the provision of renewable energy to the energy mix in Nigeria as an indication of the country’s commitment to adopt a sustainable development strategy in shaping the economy. It reviews the literature and employs a discourse analysis to examine the limited use of renewable energy sources in Nigeria and the factors prevailing against their development. The paper concludes by identifying social and political obstacles as most significant roadblocks towards rapid implementation of a green economy through the deployment of renewable energy for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries, including Nigeria, aim to achieve industrialisation and sustainable development. However, there are few empirical studies that examined the impact of industrialisation-led economic transformation on carbon emissions in developing countries. This is the focus of this study. The paper investigates the impact of industrial value-added on CO 2 emissions in Nigeria using the Kaya Identity framework and Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), Johansen׳s cointegration technique and vector error correction model (VECM). The data spans from 1980 to 2011. The result of the ADF test indicates that continual long term policies that exert permanent shocks on the variables are required to achieve economic development, industrialisation and CO 2 reduction. The result of the analysis shows that industrial value-added has an inverse and significant relationship with CO 2 emissions, which suggests that there is no evidence that industrialisation increases carbon emissions in Nigeria. GDP per capita and population has positive and significant impacts on CO 2 emission. Energy intensity and carbon intensity has positive but very weak significant impact (at 10% level) on CO 2 emission. The paper recommends that policy makers in Nigeria should pursue pragmatic industrialisation policies coupled with modest decarbonisation and energy-efficiency measures in order to ensure long term industrial, economic and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deployments of renewable energy technologies in the current century represent a critical approach to sustainable development. Renewable energy can be generated from sources with the backdrop to restock themselves based on timescale. The most important sources of renewable energy include solar photovoltaic conversion technologies, biomass and biofuel energy systems, wind energy turbines, geothermal energy technologies and hydroelectric power systems. Considerable investment in renewable energy in a country can lower the nation's dependency on imported fuels and purchase of energy from foreign market. It also drives technological innovation and generate employment scheme while enhancing clean development mechanism. Consequently, this paper presents the existing renewable energy technologies in the Nigeria and as well makes some critical recommendations to further induce development of renewable and sustainable energy systems based on autonomous energy systems and microgrid (µgrid) technologies. The recommendations are made based on varieties of energy technologies for solar power generation, biomass and bioenergy, wind energy, hydropower generation and the combined generation systems using hybrid energy mechanism. The structure of the study is concluded based on suggestions on how to pursue some impending socio-political, technological, investment policy and legislative issues for effective renewable energy development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a post-2015 blueprint recently agreed upon by the United Nations, to address the energy poverty problem in the global community. This plan, coupled with the need to mitigate climate change and also find alternative energy options to fossil fuels, is expected to continuously lead to increased interests in the development of renewable energy systems, around the world. Such systems have the potential to address the energy deficit in the world’s energy poor regions, e.g. sub-Saharan Africa, where about 50% of the 1.2 billion people in the world live without access to electricity. This paper first discusses the state-of-the-art of photovoltaic (PV) technologies worldwide. It then presents the development of solar panel plant, using the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) 7.5 MW solar panel plant in Nigeria as a case study, which is established to build local capacity in PV technologies and also promote their widespread applications. The plant layout design, materials, equipment and production line are discussed. A new technique called Fundamental PV Module Performance Analysis (FPVMPA) is employed to assess the performance of a single NASENI 190 W module in terms of power output, energy yield, capture losses, fill factor, and efficiency, allowing the prediction of the module performance pre-installation, based on IEC 61724 standards. Furthermore, emphasis is laid on the impact of temperature on the module, which affects its efficiency and overall outputs. These analyses are then used to evaluate the performance of a 54.72 kW Photovoltaic Electric Power Generation Plant (PEPGP) that is proposed for a remote mini-estate in Kutunku, Nigeria. Future research directions are also provided on module life cycle analysis, end-of-life management and recycling. Results show the module performance under varying irradiance and temperature conditions, which can be useful for design, planning and application purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy system models can be used to explore future sustainable energy pathways for the household sector in order to inform policy decisions. However, few residential energy system models have been developed for the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region and they do not account for the key diversities of energy use within the sector. This paper addresses this gap by developing a new residential energy model for Nigeria—the most populous country in SSA. The model is then used to explore different energy transition scenarios for the sector. Results indicate that the final energy consumption of the rural households will reduce and that of the urban households will increase significantly by 2050 when compared to the base year levels. The results indicate that cooking remains the most energy-intensive end-use. Analysis of the scenarios reveals that realising Sustainable Development Goal number 7 in Nigeria will drastically reduce the final energy demand of the sector. The transition from fuelwood to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking will reduce indoor air pollutants considerably but will increase CO 2 emissions by 2050. The results also indicate that including the cost of externalities in energy cost makes electricity and biogas more economically viable options for cooking. While the model results are insightful, the paper argues that robust and dedicated policies are needed for a sustainable energy transition of the Nigerian residential sector. • A bottom-up energy system model for the Nigerian residential sector: TINIRES is developed. • Energy system implications of SDG 7 in Nigeria household sector by 2030 and beyond. • Household energy consumption is expected to increase by 100% between 2010 and 2050. • Biogas is the most economically viable option for cooking in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper evaluates small hydropower (SHP) development and examines the current situation in Nigeria with respect to the established policies and Energy Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005. Hydropower sector witnessed about 360% growth between 1971 and 2005 and yet only about 5% of the vast small hydropower (SHP) potential is tapped by the few plants built between 1923 and 1964. Operating and maintenance costs are in favor of SHP development in the country, being the lowest when compared with the situation in European countries. The Nigerian Government has taken steps to diversify energy sources in order to promote renewable energy development by encouraging private investments in the energy sector through reforms, but this may not be adequate as there remain barriers against SHP development in the country. It is concluded that government must incorporate subsidies, feed-in-tariffs, and framework for Price Purchase Agreements (PPA) into the policies in order to further promote renewable energy and attract both indigenous and foreign investments for quick adoption and rapid expansion of SHP technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]