Africa Surveyors September-October issue 2023

TECHNOLOGY
Decarbonising Nigeria is feasible
with current power technologies
And will not cost more
By Wale Yusuff
Meeting last week in Abuja and Lagos for the 2023 Energy
Transition Forum, Nigeria’s leading energy experts have
outlined the country’s roadmap to decarbonisation, and
discussed what it will take to deliver universal access to clean energy
for Nigerian households and businesses.
Speaking in front of senior representatives of some of Nigeria’s most
prominent private and publicorganisations, Wale Yusuff, Managing
Director of Wärtsilä in Nigeria, explained how the most advanced
studies had shown that decarbonising Nigeria was not only feasible,
but that it could also be done in a way that lowered the cost of
electricity going forward.
“A lot of Nigerians still think that a renewable energy-based power
system is expensive and unreliable, but it doesn’t have to be. On
the contrary, I am confident we can reach universal and reliable
access to low-cost clean power provided we don’t lose sight of the
big picture strategy and develop the power system in logical steps.
All the technologies needed for a net zero power system in Nigeria
are already a reality: renewables, energy storage, balancing power
plants, and sustainable fuels such as green hydrogen, ammonia, and
methanol. These are the key ingredients needed to achieve our green
electrification goals. When these technologies are combined in an
adequate fashion, they deliver the lowest cost of electricity. Smart
planning, strategy and transparent government regulations will do the
rest”, Yusuff said.
Wind and solar are by far the cheapest source of new electricity
available, so their massive deployment is what will significantly
bring the overall system costs down. But as the share of renewables
increases in power generation, the volatility of the system will surge,
explained Yusuff. “That’s why grid flexibility is going to be the true
cornerstone of Nigeria’s decarbonisation efforts.”, he said.
In other words, as wind and solar grow to become the dominant source
of energy, their intermittent nature will need to be compensated by
flexible power capacities to ensure that the supply of electricity always
matches demand. Flexibility in the grid comes from balancing power
technologies, namely energy storage and engine power plants, which
help avoid unnecessary stress in the power system.
To meet the explosive growth of Nigeria’s electricity demand, the
country’s power infrastructure must also be quickly expanded and
modernised, both in terms of generation and transmission. “Bridging
our infrastructure gap will require the union of different market forces:
financing
(centre) Wale Yusuff, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Nigeria
institutions both multilateral and local, government planning and
private capital involvement.”, said Yusuff.
Ultimate fuel flexibility
Last year, Wärtsilä released a report which provides a detailed and
realistic roadmap showing how Nigeria should proceed to build a
100% renewable energy power system by 2060. The report shows
that Nigeria has everything it needs to successfully accomplish its
electrification goals. It benefits from fantastic solar energy resources,
but it also has significant, and largely untapped gas resources.
Gas is a key transitional energy source that is set to play an important
role in the country’s electrification. That’s why the gas infrastructure
must also be rapidly ramped up. Cheap domestic gas is necessary to
fuel the flexible engine power plants we need to balance a renewable
grid in the short and medium term.
What is more, engine power plants offer the significant advantage of
being able to run on different fuels, from natural gas and heavy fuel
oil today, to locally produced green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol
tomorrow as they become competitive and broadly available. In this
sense, they are the ultimate “future-proof” technology, meaning they
are an ideal foundation on which a fully carbon neutral power system
can realistically be built.
Future fuels are quickly becoming a reality in Africa. For example,
very large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia plants, powered by
renewable energy, are already being developed in South Africa by
industry consortiums. Wärtsilä’s engine power plants, on the other
hand, are expected to be able to function on methanol by the end
of this year, on green Ammonia next year, and on green hydrogen by
2026. “The outlook for the use of future fuels in flexible engine power
plants is indeed very positive”, concluded Yusuff.
24 September-October issue l 2023 www.africasurveyorsonline.com