The document discusses green energy and its potential role in women's socio-economic development in Nigeria. It notes that over 60% of Nigerians live in rural areas where access to electricity and petroleum is limited, forcing dependence on fuelwood. Green technologies like small hydropower, solar, and wind could provide sustainable electricity and improve lives by reducing health issues from indoor air pollution and freeing up time. Partnerships across different sectors would help scale up green energy applications and training to benefit rural women and communities.

1. GREEN ENERGY, WOMEN AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Christianah O. Ijagbemi
Department of Mechanaical Engineering
Federal University of Technology
Akure, Nigeria

2. Nigeria
Location: longitude 3o and 14o East of
Greenwich and latitude 4o and 14o north of
equator
Population of 140 million, and a total land
area of 923,768 km2 .
Energy, - oil and gas contribute over 70% of
Federal revenue.
Only about 40% of households in Nigeria are
connected to the national grid.

3. Region/country Biomass Petroleum
Products
Electricity Gas Coal
North Africa 4.1 61.5 15.1 18.0 1.3
Sub-Sahara Africa 81.2 14.5 2.9 1.0 0.5
South Africa 16.5 29.3 25.9 1.6 26.8
Africa’s Energy Consumption Profile in 2004 (%)
• The contribution of energy to GDP is expected to
be higher when we take into account renewable
energy utilization, which constitutes about 90%
of the energy used by the rural population.
Source: Karekezi et al, 2008
s

4. Rural Areas of Nigeria
•Over 60% of Nigerians living in the rural areas.
•Petroleum products such as kerosene and gasoline
are purchased in the rural areas at prices 150% in
excess of their official pump prices.
•The daily needs of the rural populace for heat
energy are, therefore, met almost entirely from
fuelwood.

5. Energy Sources for Cooking and Heating in Nigeria
Fuelwood
%
Charcoal
%
Kerosine
%
LPG
%
Electricity
%
Inexpensive 92 71 54 23 4
Easy to purchase 37 53 16 25 38
Easy to use 18 26 70 72 77
Traditionally used by
household
64 19 82 21 9
Low initial investment cost 18 15 29 10 7
Gives high heat/cooks fast 16 12 5 62 47
Safe to use n/a 20 2 9 30
Food taste better n/a 10 12 39 44
No negative health effects n/a 6 n/a 15 38
Clean to cook with n/a 2 6 67 78

6. Fuelwood Consumption: The Nigerian Situation
• The rural areas, which are generally inaccessible due to
absence of good road networks, have little access to
conventional energy such as electricity and petroleum
products.
• It is critical that gender aspects be considered when it comes
to Energy Crisis: especially for domestic use.

7. 81% of African households burn solid fuels, with
about 70% depending on woodbased biomass as
their primary cooking fuel>
Resource Quantity
(Millions
tonnes)
Energy Value
(‘000 MJ)
Fuelwood 39.1 531.0
Agro-waste 11.2 147.7
Saw dust 1.8 31.4
Municipal Solid
waste
4.1 -
Fuelwood Consumption
Biomass Resources and Estimated Quantites in Nigeria

8. In Nigeria, energy security is affected by several key developments:
population growth, accelerated urbanization, economic development and
relative price changes of other energy options
Energy Security in Nigeria

9. •National demand was estimated to be 39 million tonnes of
fuelwood.
• About 95% of the total fuelwood consumption was used in
households for cooking and for cottage industrial activities.
•There is a well-established link between energy for cooking
and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with
measures for increasing sustainable biomass production and
improving cooking technology both cited as being MDG
consistent targets.
Fuelwood Consumption

10. Green Energy
Small Hydropower (SHP) Development in Nigeria
• Rural electrification is given high priority in government’s efforts to
increase the standard of living in rural areas, reduce rural-urban
migration trends, and realize other development objectives.
The challenges:
• a. how to provide sustainable energy (electricity) services to the
poorest of the poor, who have no purchasing power to pay for the
services?
• b. how to offer the most cost-effective, clean and reliable electricity
to those who are currently spending a significant share of their
income on energy ?;
• c. how to set up the commercial infrastructure to provide these
services?

11. Green Energy: Solar
• Mean annual average of total solar radiation:
3.5 kWhm–2day-1 in the coastal latitudes
7 kWhm–2day-1 along the semi arid areas in the far
North.
On the average: solar radiation at the level of about
19.8 MJm –2 day-1. Average sunshine hours are estimated
at 6hrs per day.
• if solar collectors or modules were used to cover 1% of Nigeria’s
land area of 923,773km2, it is possible to generate 1850 x 103
GWh of solar electricity per year.
• This is over one hundred times the current grid electricity
consumption level in the country.

12. Region/country Biomass Petroleum
Products
Electricity Gas Coal
North Africa 4.1 61.5 15.1 18.0 1.3
Sub-Sahara Africa 81.2 14.5 2.9 1.0 0.5
South Africa 16.5 29.3 25.9 1.6 26.8
Africa’s Energy Consumption Profile in 2004 (%)
• The contribution of energy to GDP is expected to
be higher when we take into account renewable
energy utilization, which constitutes about 90%
of the energy used by the rural population.
Source: Karekezi et al, 2008
s

13. Green Energy: Wind
•Average speeds of 2.0 m/s at the coastal region and 4.0 m/s at the far
northern region of the country.
•Wind energy intensity, perpendicular to the wind direction, ranges
between 4.4 W/ m2 at the coastal areas and 35.2 W/ m2 at the far
northern region.
•Potential application of wind energy - “green electricity” for the rural
community and for integration into the national grid system.
•An average annual wind speed of not less than 5 m/s at a height of 10m
above ground level is the feasible speed for the exploitation of wind
energy at today’s cost.

14. Women and Green Energy
Women access to energy for domestic use using green energy would
have significant impacts on livelihoods in Nigeria:
• Cleaner use of traditional fuels will significantly improve health by reducing
acute respiratory infection and conjunctivitis.
• Cooking with more efficient technologies will make dietary choice and boiling of
water more affordable or more likely.
• Women and children will have more time for education, leisure and economic
activity.
• Access to radio and television will improve educational opportunities and
provide entertainment.
• Electric lighting will provides higher quality illumination than kerosene lanterns,
improving opportunities for extended work and study time as well as better
security, comfort and safety.

15. Way Forward
• Green energy is considered a viable solution to rural women energy
challenges in Nigeria, especially to the restrictions posed by the rising
cost of conventional energy.
• The biomass energy sector has the potential of significantly
increasing the revenue base of Nigeria, unlocking resources urgently
needed for investments in natural resources and other key areas for
sustainable economic development and green growth.
• Partnerships: Joining forces with other development partners, the
private sector, NGOs, CSOs, and other stakeholders will create
necessary synergies needed to improved on Green Energy application
for domestic use.

16. Conclusion
The role of Green energy technologies in meeting the energy
challenges is discussed.
Consideration has been given to the factors affecting women
and socio-economic developments in the Green energy
sector.
Efforts to ensure capacity building for green energy,
stimulation of the private sector, developing the markets for
green energy and the assistance of multilateral institutions in
advancing green energy technologies in Nigeria were equally
discussed.