This document provides an overview of wind power planning in Nigeria. It analyzes wind speed data from various locations that show wind power potential is high along coastal areas and in northern highland regions. A proposed wind farm project in Gada, Sokoto is described, featuring Vestas V-90 2MW turbines. While installation will impact local roads and require noise mitigation, wind power can provide sustainable electricity and power rural economic development. Overall, the document finds Nigeria has excellent wind resources that could be harnessed through wind farms, especially in high wind regions like Sokoto.

1. Wind power Basics
Spring 2011
AN OVERVIEW OF WINDPOWER PLANNING
IN NIGERIA
Photo By New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.[1]
By
Okoye Elochukwu Obinna
Nnewi, Nigeria.
February, 2011
Supervisors: Fan Zou
Examiner: Liselotte Aldén
Gotland University, Visby, Sweden

2. Executive Summary
From the grid or graph as the case may be, it was uncovered that the wind mean
speed at a height of 10m above the ground ranges between 2.3m/s to 3.4m/s
for sites along the costal areas and 3.0m/s to 3.9m/s for highland areas and
semi-arid regions. The analysis carried out in this report on data shows that the
monthly average wind power can be as high as 50.1W/m².Small wind energy
conversion systems for pumping water, irrigation and small agricultural
industries are recommended for a small communities living in isolated areas
around the selected sites. It was also discovered that the wind turbine can
generate up to 97MWh per year in Sokoto, a site in a high wind speed regions.
Therefore, using wind energy conversion systems for electric power generation
and supply in Nigeria—especially around the Sokoto axis will be cost effective.
Similarly, after analysis a wind potential of a town near Jos, it was discovered
that the maximum power intensity which could be extracted from the wind in
the areas was found to be 14.23W/m² out of the estimated available wind power
intensity of 24.00W/m².The amount of energy density available in the wind has
also been estimated to be 1126.28KWh/year. The use of wind power for supply
of electricity broadens the energy base & reduces environmental pollution. It is
particularly practical if it can be economically competitive with conventional
energy sources. The use of wind energy will be suitable for rural farming
companies that require lighting and some limited supply of electricity which will
be costly to get due to the location of farms. Several researchers have shown
that in areas with annual mean wind speeds of 3.5m/s - 4.0m/s or greater, wind
power systems can usually deliver electricity or pump water at costs lower than
photovoltaic, diesels, or grid-extension.[5]
The new generation of wind turbines work in light winds starting as low as
3m/s, making wind power a viable and economically sound source for
energy in most of the Northern States in Nigeria and also else where
depending on the geography of selected sites.
ii

3. Preface
This report is about a wind power project in Nigeria which is on the planning
stage and also presents data on wind analysis, environmental and planning
aspects. The content is focused on Nigeria. After a research of several weeks to
get the information I needed, I contacted ―New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.‖ who
provided me with some vital information that led to the success of this great
project.
NEW ERA Energy is an international energy solutions company with offices in
Kano, Sokoto and Lagos in Nigeria and Gerrards Cross, near London. They are
companies that specialize in Wind driven water and energy solutions, Exclusive
wind turbine distributor and installator in West Africa Gaia, Evance, Proven,
Southwest WindPower.
I will not fail to extend my regards to Mr. NSIMA ASUQUO, a good friend of
mine in the department of Industrial Production Engineering ,Nnamdi Azikiwe
University,Awka Nigeria who gave me all the necessary assistance i needed
during my research work.
The Environmental Impact Assessment report that I used was realized from
New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.
Most importantly, I am thanking God Almighty who was always there for me
during this Report and finally made it a success for me.
OKOYE ELOCHUKWU OBINNA
(Name)
2011-02-24
(Date)
NNEWI, NIGERIA
(Place)
iii

4. Table of contents
CHAPTER 1 –INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND............................................................................. 1
1.2 LOCATION DESCRIPTION.......................................................... 2
CHAPTER 2 – PLANNING PROCESS...................................................................4
2.1-WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL IN NIGERIA................................4
2.2-WIND SPEED DATA ANALYSIS……………………………….5
CHAPTER 3 – WIND TURBINES…………………………................................. 6
3.1 -DESCRIPTION OF WIND TURBINES........................................6
3.2 -INSTALLATION OF WIND TURBINES.....................................7
CHAPTER 4 -ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT……………………………………7
4.1-INFLUENCE OF INSTALLATION IN THE IMMEDIATE
ENVIRONMENT…………………………………………………7
4.2- AIR TRAFFIC…………………………………………………….8
4.3-NOISE………………………………………………………..........8
CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION ..............................................................................8
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………9
APPENDIXES..........................................................................................................I
iv

5. CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Roughly 90% of Nigerian economy is dependent on the crude oil.
Expectedly, most of her generating plants are thermal power stations which are
presently operating below installed capacity. This report therefore looks at the
prospects of wind energy in Nigeria. The wind speed data collected from some
towns in Nigeria indicates that the country has good sites for installation of
wind energy conversion systems. This report recommends the incorporation of
wind energy in the renewable energy resources development programme of a
developing economy like Nigeria. This would be a way of boosting her energy
needs as well as accelerating the sluggish nature of the Federal government of
Nigeria rural electrification programmes.
The wholesale of the supply for electrical energy in the country has been from
the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) which presently the task is being
performed by the Power Holding Company Of Nigeria(PHCN) which uses the
conservative energy generation method-Water has so many demerits such as :
 Hydro plants depend for sustained operation on in-flow of water into the
storage and this in-flow can be affected up stream by drought and outside
the borders of this nation, by political or other considerations.
 The pollution arising in the case of thermal stations from combustion of
fuel is not environment-friendly due to the fact that sulphur oxides, heavy
metals, radio-active elements, hydrocarbons and large quantities of carbon
dioxide are emitted which leads to acid rain.
 Fossil and nuclear fuels are finite and non-renewable energy sources.
 Burned nuclear fuel is radioactive; it requires remote handling and special
processing and disposal of toxic waste.
 Special system designs are required to prevent radioactivity release during
normal operation or due to accidents.
 Major portions of a nuclear plant are radioactive during and after
operation, requiring special precautions and advanced technology for
maintenance of much of the plant. [5]
Wind power, which is the subject of this report, is a very sustainable way of
producing energy; wind turbines aren’t producing polluting emissions or climate
change gases.
1

6. The following figure will present the wind power production capacities of
Nigeria for the year 2002 – 2010 in Megawatts (MW).
Figure 1: shows above on windpower production capacities of Nigeria for the ending of
the year 2002 – 2010 in MW. [2]
 End 2002: 1 MW (+ %)
 End 2003: 2 MW (+100 %)
 End 2004: 2 MW (+0 %)
 End 2005: 2 MW (+0 %)
 End 2006: 2 MW (+0 %)
 End 2007: 2 MW (+0 %)
 End 2008: 2 MW (+0 %)
 End 2009: 2.2 MW (+10.1 %)
 End 2010: 2.2 MW (+0 %)[2]
1.2 Location Description
The wind power project site of this report is located at GADA in Sokoto state,
Nigeria. Gada is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its
headquarters are in the town of Gada. Gada shares a border with the Republic
of Niger to the north. The site is situated at an area of 1,315 km² and a
population of 248,267 at the 2006 census.[7]
2

7. Figure 2: The localization of Gada in Sokoto, Nigeria and Africa shown in the map above on red dots.
Source: Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.[8]
3

8. Figure 3: The map shown in this figure below is on the basis of ground level observations.
Wind speeds are up to 20% higher at 50’ elevation due to less turbulence.
▼
Source: New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd, 2011. [1]
CHAPTER 2 – PLANNING PROCESS
2.1 – Wind Energy Potential in Nigeria
This conservative system of using large centrally located power plants and
grid extension for rural electrification is currently being challenged by the
advent of smaller, modular technologies such as wind power, micro-hydro
and photovoltaic. The various wind generator projects in Nigeria were
neglected in the last decade due to increasing popularity and low price of
crude oil. In recent times the high price of petroleum products leads to
attempts at restructuring these windmills. However, difficulties in obtaining
spare parts for models which were no longer being manufactured hindered
the restoration. Also, some other factors that led to the failure of past wind
generators are the assessment of wind energy potentials, feasibility studies
on wind energy utilization, inadequate wind data base used as the bases for
designing & building different prototypes that need be considered in
reducing locally manufactured windmills.[5]
4

9. 2.2 – Wind Speed Data Analysis
In an attempt to discover wind energy potential in the country, several
sites (Enugu, Jos, Ikeja& Sokoto ) which differ in natural conditions and
having different wind characteristics were selected for this report.
Fig 4: Windspeed data for Enugu station Fig 5:Windspeed data for Jos station
Fig 6:Windspeed data for Ikeja station Fig 7:Windspeed data for Sokoto station
Figures 4-7 show the wind speed data for various stations from the year 2000 to 2003.[5]
5

10. CHAPTER 3 – WIND TURBINES
3.1 -Description of Wind Turbines
A wind turbine is a rotary device that extracts energy from the wind. If the
mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as for pumping
water, cutting lumber or grinding stones, the machine is called a windmill.
If the mechanical energy is instead converted to electricity, the machine is
often called a wind generator.
The kind of wind turbine envisioned or planned to be used is the Vestas V – 90.
Table 1 in Appendix I is displaying the technical data thereof.
Fig. 8: Schematic view of a wind turbine structure
The V – 90 by VESTAS produces 2MW. The turbine is constructed out of
an 80m high conical steel tower. At the ground level the diameter of the
tower is 4,5m. The rotor blades have a diameter of 90m, what makes a total
construction height of the wind turbine of 125m. The control system is
pitch controlled. The start wind of the turbine is 2,5m/s and the rated wind
speed is 13m/s. And the cut out wind speed is 25m/s. The nacelle weighs
with all its components 68tons. The generator is asynchronous (VESTAS
2008,Installation of Wind Turbines
3.2- New Era Energy).[6]
6

11. Figure 9: showing New Era Energy‘s Installation of wind turbine at
the site in GADA.
Photo source: New Era Energy Nigeria Ltd.[1]
All their projects are professionally handled and installed by proficient
teams. Lifting of the wind turbine can be physically strenuous and should
only be performed by a strong vehicle and in a good weather condition.
Lifting the tower should never be executed in high wind conditions or
when a venture of rain or electrical storms exists.
Wind powered solutions will deliver maximum water and/or electricity
when the entire solution is thoughtfully designed and well planned.
All NEW ERA ENERGY solutions incorporate design to verify site
suitability, actual needs, solution options, storage strategies, training and
capacity development. NEW ERA ENERGY will then plan the installation
logistics and resource requirements so ensure that this project are delivered
on time, to quality and to budget. All NEW ERA ENERGY projects
include capacity development so as to make the projects sustainable.
CHAPTER 4 -ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
4.1-Influence of Installation in the Immediate Environment
The utmost influence on the environment will probably be during the
assembly at site. Roads of good quality are needed to access the
construction site of each turbine. To start with the now existing roads are
going to be used for transports, which will cause a need to widen, level
7

12. and reinforce the construction of the roads. Any possible damages on the
roads due to heavy transports will be repaired when the wind farm is ready
to be taken into use.
4.2- Air Traffic
As stated by the civil aviation board regulation (LFS 2008:47), wind
turbines with a total height lower than 150 meters must be equipped with a
red midintense flashing light. It is possible to dim the light during the night
to a more low penetrating character. If the wind turbines are provided with
GPS the lights can be controlled to flash synchronized. With the help of
these preventive measures, the interloping of the surroundings will be
reduced as far as possible with consideration of the air traffic security
demands.
4.3- Noise
The most perceptible impact of a wind turbine places upon the
environment is noise pollution. Many people think wind turbines are a
great idea, yet a large proportion of these people would oppose a wind
farm development close to their home. This is down to the noise, and
many people compare the sound output of a wind turbine to a small jet
engine. The impact of noise pollution has the potential to lower property
values within a varying radius of the construction. Modern technologies are
ever increasing the efficiency of wind turbines, yet they fail to decrease the
noise output by significant levels. The noise pollution can greatly depend
on the average annual wind speed (i.e. the higher the wind speed, the
greater the noise output can be) and the size of the blades. Noise pollution
is said to be one of the biggest disadvantages of a wind turbine.
CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION
By using metrological data collected from some selected weather stations in
Nigeria, analysis of such data shows that wind power prospects in Nigeria
is high. From the analysis also, it was clearly seen that costal and hilly areas
are excellent sites for wind power development. Therefore, using Wind
Energy Conversion Systems(WECs) for electric power generation and
supply in Nigeria—especially around Sokoto axis with mean wind speed of
about 3.78m/s will be cost effective.[5]
Description of the current state of Wind Power in Nigeria as was illustrated
on the map at figure 3 above, which I also collected from the New Era
8

13. Energy Nig. Ltd: The Northern part of Nigeria has better average wind
speeds of 4 -5.5m/s but there are also parts of the mountainous Centre and
South in the same range, Peak winds are April-August.
The first of a series of national wind generation projects will start in Katsina
by 2012.Small wind turbines generally require 4 m/s to work and Mechanical wind
pumps generally require 2.5 m/s to work.
Considering the prospect of wind energy in a developing economy like
Nigeria, the following recommendations are made:
1. Excellent sites such as Jos and Sokoto should have a wind power
plant for the generation of electricity which should be integrated with
the existing national grid.
2. Wind energy resources should be included in the renewable energy
resources development programme of Nigeria.
REFERENCES
1. http://neenigeria.com/html/windpower.html, New Era Energy Nigeria
Ltd, 2011.
2. www.thewindpower.net , The Wind Power Datasheet updated: 10/2010.
3. Enibe, S.O.: ―A method of Assessing the wind Energy potentials in a
Nigeria location‖, Nigerian Journal of Solar Energy, Vol.6, 1987, pp.14 -17.
4. Ezeugwu , D.U.: ―Wind Energy prospects in a developing economy‖,
B.Eng. Thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka , September 2004.
5. Okoro,O.I. and Govender, P:Prospects of Wind Energy in Nigeria,
2007/02/3.
6. www.vestas.com, 2008.
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada,_Nigeria , Accessed on 2011/02/24.
8. http://www.fallingrain.com/world/NI/51/Gada.html, Falling Rain
Genomics, Inc. 1996-2010.
9

14. Appendixes
Appendixes 1:Table 1: Technical Data for the turbine Vestas V- 90 (Source: Vestas, 2008).
▼
Technical Data Vestas V – 90
Rated power 2MW
Rotor Diameter 90m
Swept area 6.362 m²
Hub height 80m
Total height 125m
Power Control Pitch Optispeed
Rotational Speed 9 – 14.9rpm
Start Wind 2,5m/s
Rated Wind 13m/s
Stop Wind 25m/s
Generator Asynchronous
Appendixes 2: Fig. 8: Schematic view of a wind turbine structure
▼
I