Authors : Awogbemi O. Mnse and A.O. Ojo
Abstract: Nigeria is a nation largely composed of a rural economy and the need for sustainable energy development arises, which is pertinent in ensuring that the desire to make Nigeria one of the best twenty economies in the world by the 2020 is realized. Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful development without solving the prevailing energy crisis. The current situation of the power supply in Nigeria reveals that <20% of rural dwellers have access to electricity and as such, it calls for a pragmatic approach in resolving this imbalance between energy supply in the urban and the rural centers. This study describes, how a renewable and sustainable energy source, wind energy, can be applied by virtue of its conversion to electricity through wind turbines, for use for rural electrification in Nigeria. The study also highlight the prospects, technical details, policy proposals and challenges to harnessing of wind energy for rural electrification are also presented. The study however, concludes that Nigeria can emerge stronger from the current energy crisis if the principles of sustainable development in terms of economic, energy and environmental policy and if international support is mobilized to meet Nigeria’s needs.
Awogbemi O. Mnse and A.O. Ojo, 2009. Harnessing Wind Energy to Solve Nigeria’s Energy Crisis. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 4: 197-204.