ENERGY CONSUMPTION KUROINYEAH CHARLES ABSTRACT

Transcription

1 ENERGY CONSUMPTION KUROINYEAH CHARLES ABSTRACT The continuous rise in fossil fuels prices around the world, their depletion, and the growing public interest in environmental issues, stimulated the transport industry to consider better types and sources of alternative fuels. The shortage in electricity supply in Nigeria has directed interest in searching for better types and sources of alternative fuels. Nigeria, other countries and the transport industry will be happy if they can get alternative fuels that are cheaper than fossil fuels. This study is aimed at discussing energy consumption, alternative fuels, and reasons for looking for them. The question concerns how much of these other alternative fuels can be obtained at a cost competitive to fossil fuel; can they be mass produced in a sustainable manner that is safe to meet the high demand. The alternative fuels technology may use renewable energy (wind energy) and offers a solution for sustainable transport fuels. These alternative fuels can be used in cars, aircraft, and generators, etc, and for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, but this is dependent on the type and the source of the alternative fuel. Keywords: Abbreviations: Fossil fuels NESC Nigeria Electricity Supply Company Alternative fuels PWD Public Works Department Electricity Supply ECN Electricity Corporation of Nigeria Power Sector NDA Nigeria Dams Authority NEPA PHCN PACP National Electricity Power Authority Power Holding Company of Nigeria Presidential Action Committee on Power GNNCOS Power Generation Companies DISCOS Distribution Companies 1. Introduction The continuous rise in fossil fuels prices around the world, and the growing public interest in environmental issues, has stimulated the transport industry to consider better types and sources of alternative fuels that can be used presently and in future after the fossil fuel era. The shortage in electricity supply in Nigeria has directed attention towards better types and sources of alternative fuels, better electricity power source, alternative power sources and improvement to 222

2 Energy Consumption the existing power supply in Nigeria. It is also worth highlighting that the world energy consumption is fast increasing, with fossil fuel being the dominant source. Today, the reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. Statistics have shown steady growth in the world consumption levels in recent years especially in India and in China which are the largest consumer in 2010 (figure 1). Figure 1: Energy consumption in the USA, EU some major countries (Mtoe). (Source: Enerdata, World energy use in 2010). Even though it may be below the crisis level as at today this trend should be a source of concern for sustainability in the future, especially considering the rate of depletion of non-renewable resources. This, therefore, poses a movement for the generation of renewable energy in order to meet the increasing energy needs Causes of the increased worldwide energy demand Some of the factors driving the increased energy demand include the following: (a) Industrialization in the markets: Businesses and infrastructure are expanding and in need of significant quantities of energy. They need electricity and fuels to function. 223

3 Nigerian Journal Of Oil And Gas Technology - Vol 3 No. 1 (b) Globalization. The transportation sector is a major consumer of energy and accounts for a significant portion of liquid fuel consumption in the world, especially air transportation with more aircraft travelling all over the world. (c) Increasing wealth. As economies continue to grow, there is an increased rate of energy needs. More cars, generators, air conditioners, etc are continuously being demanded in tandem with population growth. (d) Concerns over energy security. Though the high demand is significantly caused by technological advancement, transportation, economy, etc. there are concerns over energy security. Some of these fossil fuels are produced in politically volatile regions where the security threat could actually affect the production of these fuels. Oil has become very important in society. Ninety percent of transportation whether land, air or sea is fuelled by oil. Ninety five percent of goods in shops involve the use of oil. Ninety five percent of food production requires oil. The world consumes more than 80 million barrels of oil a day and 29 billion barrels a year. The global demand is expected to increase to about 120 million barrels a day and 43 billion barrels a year by 2025(Haiste,O.(2008)) Nigeria Electricity is important for socio-economic and technological development of a nation. The electricity demand in Nigeria far outstrips the supply. Nigeria is having electricity supply problems which have affected the country's development. Nigeria has many natural resources that can be used to produce electricity but still has electricity problems. Some schools of thought believe that there is a correlation between socio-economic development and availability of electricity. Electricity generation started in Nigeria in 1896 when the first power plant was built in Lagos (Oni,A.(2013)). However it was not until 1929 when the Nigeria Electricity Supply Company (NESC) was established as an electric utility company, and as a result of this the Public Works Department (PWD) was empowered to build power plants in different parts of the country. This resulted in the construction of a hydroelectric power station at Kuru near Jos, among others (Oni,A.(2013)). Electricity supply at that time was for the government offices and quarters and the very influential people. There was a change in 1951 when the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was established with the directive to facilitate adequate supply of electricity to as many Nigerians that are willing to have electricity and are able to pay for it. This resulted to the first 132KV line which was constructed in 1962 linking Ijora Power Station to Ibadan Power Station (Oni,A.(2013)). Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was established in 1962 with a mandate to develop the hydropower potential of Country this was a breakthrough in power generation and transmission in Nigeria. In 1972 ECN and NDA were merged to form the 224

4 Energy Consumption National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). The Nigerian Government amended the Electricity and NEPA Acts in 1998 to accommodate private sector participation in the power sector which ended the monopoly of NEPA over electricity generation, transmission, distribution and sales in Nigeria, However not much changed in spite of the amendment to the Act. Some schools of thought believe that the 1970s and 1980s are the golden era of electricity supply in Nigeria. This is because many rural communities were not connected to the national grid; there was ample supply of electricity to connected areas with downtime being very few and far between. There has been a consistent decline in electricity supply in Nigeria since the 1990s. This is due to the fact that for over two decades the power sector was subjected to neglect. The power plants were crippled especially as the hydro-power plants in Kainji,Jebba and Shiroro had a drop in generation due to age and obsolete equipment. This was made worse by the Nigerian Government's failure to add a single power plant to the existing ones despite the rising population and increased demands for electricity. This demand has grown at the rate of 8.2 per cent annum since 1984 against the Gross Domestic Product growth at the rate of between three and five per cent (History/Nigeria electricity.(2017)). The electricity supply continued to worsen to depreciate to the extent that generation level dropped to as low as 1500 megawatts in In 2001 reform in the power sector state started when the Olusegun Obasanjo administration came up with the National Power Policy. This paved the way for the metamorphosis of NEPA into the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the formation of 18 successor companies. The administration also set up the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP) which was chaired by the president and consists of the Vice- President and ministers who play a key role in reforming the sector. The PACP provides highlevel oversight of the implementation of electric power sector reform. The Goodluck Jonathan administration came up with the reform roadmap of the power sector in Nigeria which culminated in the construction of new plants. The administration also pursued the privatisation of the power generating plants (GENCOs) and the distribution companies (DISCOs) because of the belief that with these in the hands of private companies, electricity generation and distribution would improve. The privatisation of Gencos and Discos was a daunting task given the opposition of the labour movement to the idea, the government eventually accomplished it when the ownership of the generation and distributions companies were transferred to the new owners on November Nigeria's economic development has been held back by the underdevelopment of the power sector. Despite being one of the world's major exporters of petroleum, the Country has been unable to produce enough electricity to meet domestic demand. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is responsible for Nigeria's energy generation, while the Nigeria Electricity Regulator Commission (NERC) is the regulator for the sector. At the moment, Nigeria is capable of generating around 3500MW of electricity daily, but this is well below the country's consumer and business needs which is about 10000MW of electricity 225

5 Nigerian Journal Of Oil And Gas Technology - Vol 3 No. 1 daily. The population of Nigeria is increasing daily; by 2020 the country's consumer and business needs for electricity will reach 15000MW of electricity daily. Nigerian use standby electric generators and cars that are powered by fossil fuels. They will be happy if they can use standby electric generators and cars that are powered by alternative fuels especially if the alternative fuels are as cheap as fossil fuels. Imagine if 10% of Port Harcourt population is can use alternative fuels that are produced in Port Harcourt. That will be a big market. The good news is that currently standby electric generators and cars that use alternative fuels are in the market. Some benefits of the alternative fuels They create employment. They create revenue. They produce little or no emissions but this is dependent on the type and the source of the alternative fuel. They reduce greenhouse gas emissions but this is dependent on the type and source of the alternative fuel. Nigerian and other countries will be happy if they can get an alternative fuels that are cheaper than fossil fuels. The transport industry is also looking for alternative fuels that could be used presently and in future after the fossil fuel era. There are options for sustainable transport fuels, and various research projects by different groups are underway. Alternative fuels such as Bio-fuels, hydrogen, electrical power and Air Source Fuel Synthesis (AFS) have been proposed for the transport industry. The question is; how much of these other alternative fuels can be produced in large quantities, safely and in a sustainable manner to meet the high demand? 1.3. Conclusion The continuous rise in fossil fuels prices around the world, and the growing public interest in environmental issues, has stimulated the transport industry to consider better types and sources of alternative fuels that could be used presently and in future after the fossil fuel era. Nigeria's economic development has been held back by the underdevelopment of the power sector. Despite being one of the world's major exporters of petroleum, the country has been unable to produce enough electricity to meet domestic demand. In an attempt to improve the power sector, the Government of Nigeria changed the names of the 226

6 Energy Consumption power sector companies severally, and amended the electricity and NEPA Acts to accommodate private sector participation. In the continuing pursuit of improvement in the power sector, the Government of Nigeria also made reforms and set-up a Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP) even privatising the power sector, but those changes did not bring much improvement in the electricity supply. Nigeria is still having electricity supply problems. If an alternatives fuel and other alternative power sources are used in the Nigeria power sector, these will help to bring an improvement in the electricity supply. Nigeria and other countries will be happy if they can obtain alternative fuels that are cheaper than fossil fuels. The transport industry is also looking for alternatives fuels that could be used presently and in future after the fossil fuel era. The question is; how much of these other alternative fuels can be produced in large quantities, a sustainable manner and safely to meet the high demand? 1.4. Recommendations To address the energy crisis, hydrogen fuels should be introduced. Hydrogen fuels can be generated from water and electrolyser, using renewable electricity (solar or wind). Hydrogen fuels produced directly from water using sunlight or wind energy source produces zero emission if water is considered a non-emission fluid. This is because hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form water; and releases energy. This makes hydrogen fuel the cleanest fuel available. REFERENCES nd Adolinama, P.P. (2003). Business and technical communication (2 ed., pp ). Ghana: KNUST Press. BP Global (BP). (2010). BP statistical review of world energy publication UK: US Securities and Exchange Commission. Griffiths, D., Mashmoushy, H., & Jackson, A. (2011). Industrial prime movers lecture notes. UK: Cranfield University Press. Enerdata. (2010). World energy use in 2010 (pp.3, 5-6, & 9) USA: Enerdate Press. Energy Information Administration (EIA).(2005). International energy annual EIA. Washington DC: US Department of Energy (DOE). Retrieved December 30, 2017, from Goodger, E.M. & Ogaji, S.O.T. (2011). Fuels and combustion in heat engines. Bedfordshire, UK: Cranfield University Press. Haiste, O. (2008). Oil horror: what will happen as the world runs out of oil. London: Bloomsbury international. 227

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