Oil & Energy
Harnessing Nigeria’s Hydro-Electricity Sources
On many occasions,
economists have stressed that the energy sector is cardinal to Nigeria’s efforts to actualise its vision of becoming one of the top 20 economies of the world by 2020.
They note that the erratic power supply across the country has stifled the economic growth of the country and made the citizens’ livelihoods somewhat difficult. They also raise concerns that Nigeria currently generates approximately 4,500 megawatts of electricity, while it needs about 200,000 megawatts to efficiently meet the energy needs of its population.
The experts, however, commend the Federal Government’s efforts to construct and inaugurate nine dams in line with its Transformation Agenda, underscoring the need for the optimal utilisation of the hydroelectricity component of the dams.
Although tangible efforts have been made to boost the country’s energy production capacity through alternatives such as solar power, biomass, biogas reactors, wind turbines and coal, the experts stress the need to place considerable emphasis on hydroelectricity generation as well.
Water experts particularly argue that the 2014 World Water Day, which will be celebrated on March 22 with the theme: “Water and Energy’’, should be viewed as a platform for renewing commitment to utilising dams for improved power generation.
The experts point at Inyishi and Amauzari Dams in Imo, Ibiono Ibom Dam in Akwa Ibom, Mgbowo Dam in Enugu State, Owena Dam in Ondo State, Galma Dam in Kaduna State, Sulma, Dutsi and Mashi dams in Katsina State as some of the dams that could be used to generate power.
They argue that while all the dams could be used for water supply and irrigation, two of them — Mashi and Galma dams — have the capacity to generate six megawatts of electricity.
The immediate past Coordinating Director, Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, Mr Razaq Jimoh, said that most of the dams with irrigation, water supply and hydropower generation components are underutilised due to paucity of funds.
Jimoh stressed that efforts should be made to revive the varying components of the dams to boost water supply and electricity generation, as according to him. We have examples of some large dams that had been completed for over 20 years and their level of utilisation, in some cases, is not more than 30 per cent.
“If you have a dam that is for four purposes and you are only enjoying one purpose, such a dam has not been maximally utilised.
“If you are enjoying the four benefits for which the dam was designed, you will derive more benefits from the dam for the community,’’ he said.
Jimoh noted that Kainji Dam, one of the country’s major hydropower generating dams, was designed to generate 960 megawatts, adding, however, that it could generate 760 megawatts because only eight of its 12 turbines had been installed.
In an attempt to reinvigorate the power sector, the Federal Government in 2011, selected 20 medium and large dams for hydropower generation and produced a roadmap for the development of the critical infrastructure in the water and power sectors.
In the same vein, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources said that it would achieve a 95-per-cent development of its hydropower potential capable of producing up to 10,000 megawatts of electricity by 2015.
These efforts notwithstanding, stakeholders insist that paucity of funds, inadequate technical staff and synergy among the federal and state governments are some of the major constraints to efficient electricity generation in the country.
However, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, said that “the Federal Government is indeed conscious of the fact that globally, there is a relationship between the number of dams and hydropower generation for the socio-economic benefit.
“As part of measures to improve electricity supply, the installation of 30 megawatts electro-mechanical turbines for the Gurara Dam has been completed”, he remarked.
“Besides, the Bureau of Public Procurement has given a no-objection right to the Federal Ministry of Power to harness the 40-megawatt hydropower component of Kashimbilla Dam in Taraba. “It’s a multi-purpose dam; we have the dam, the airstrip, irrigation, potable water and electricity; this dam will be completed this year,’’ Ochekpe added.
Moreover, Mr Yusuf Ismail, the Deputy Project Site Engineer, Bokolori Dam in Sokoto State, said that the dam had the potential to serve the residents of Sokoto State much better if its hydropower component was developed and duly utilised.
He called on Federal Government to harness the hydropower potential of the dam, recalling that the dam was constructed in 1978 and equipped with three megawatts hydropower and seven megawatts diesel engines for power generation.
To boost the Federal Government’s efforts to improve power generation, Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso of Kano State pledged in 2013 to finance the installation of the hydropower component of Tiga and Challawa dams at the cost N14.2 billion to produce 35 megawatts of electricity for the state.
He said that although the venture ought to have been captured in the Federal Government’s budget, the delay in harnessing the hydropower potential of the dams for the benefit of the state prompted his administration’s intervention.
“The dams had been completed but the hydropower component has not been utilised; it has been difficult to get both the Federal Government and development partners to install turbines for the generation of electricity.
“For this reason, the state government has taken the bull by the horns and will now take up the project 100 per cent and finance it,’’ he said at a recent forum.
Expressing reservations about the condition of dams across the country, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water, said that the components of many dams, particularly those in the northern parts of the country, had not been utilised.
“It is one thing to construct the dams, it is another thing to see how the state and local government would be able to tap into them and utilise them optimally.
“The dams are completed, Federal Government has done its own but the state governments need to come in and partner with it so as to ensure the benefits are taken to the door steps of the end users,’’ he said at a recent meeting of the committee.
Ukuedojor is a staff of NAN.
Magdalene Ukuedojor
Researchers in Hong Kong and China have developed a new form of battery that is more eco-friendly and longer lasting than lithium ion batteries – and it runs on tofu brine. The new water battery is still in research phases, but if the technology proves to be scalable enough to hit commercial markets, it could be a game-changer for the energy and tech sectors.
“Compared with current aqueous battery systems … our system delivers exceptional long-term cycling stability and environmental friendliness under neutral conditions,” the research team, composed of scientists from the City University of Hong Kong and Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong, said in a paper published this month in Nature Communications.
The researchers found that their battery model can be recharged over 120,000 times. “At over a hundred thousand cycles, this could mean a single water-based battery could last at least a decade or so,” states a recent report on the breakthrough from Interesting Engineering. “For applications like grid storage (solar farms, wind balancing), that’s extremely valuable,” the article went on to say.
This kind of lifespan would represent a drastic improvement over the battery technologies that dominate today’s market. Lithium-ion batteries degrade after between 1,000 and 3,000 charge cycles. This could prove revolutionary, as finding an alternative to lithium-ion batteries to power rechargeable devices is a major priority for Big Tech and the global energy sector.
Moreover, these tofu-brine batteries could prove safer and more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries. According to the study authors, the full cells are environmentally benign and nontoxic and can be directly discarded to environments according to various standards.” Water based (also called aqueous) batteries can also potentially be cheap to produce as they rely on ingredients that are less rare in addition to being less hazardous.
Lithium is environmentally harmful to extract, prone to fires, and its supply chains are geopolitically fraught. Currently, China alone controls half of the global lithium market, and is rapidly increasing its stake. In 2024, more than eight in ten battery cells on the planet were made in China. This means that finding a battery model that can compete with lithium-ion batteries in applications like grid-scale energy storage and electric vehicles would have revolutionary implications for global markets.
Researchers around the world have been racing to develop battery models that could diversify the market and make it more competitive and resilient. These models range widely in size, components, and application, with models currently under development for next-gen sodium-ion batteries, quantum batteries, nuclear batteries, and even sand and dirt batteries.
Of course, the irony is that the leading alternatives to lithium-ion batteries are also being developed in Chinese labs. If this new tofu-brine battery proves scalable and applicable outside of a laboratory environment, it could just be another step toward Beijing’s goal of near-total domination of clean energy technology value chains and status as the world’s first and premiere ‘electro-state.’
China’s extreme advantage in global battery making gives it a major point of leverage in global economies as the world continues to electrify at a rapid pace. It is estimated that European demand for lithium in batteries will reach kilo tonnes (thousands of tonnes) of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent by next year, and North American demand will reach 250 kit LCE. it’s all but certain that the vast majority of that demand will be supplied by China.
Other nations are aware of the risk of this dependency, and are taking pains to protect and promote domestic battery manufacturing, but these efforts may be too little, too late. “For globally competitive battery manufacturing industries to emerge outside of Asia over the next ten years, companies will need to do far more than ensure regulatory compliance,” summarizes a McKinsey & Company report released in January. “Challenges will need to be overcome on multiple fronts spanning supply chains, talent management, operations and technology.”
By: Haley Zaremba
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says it will spend N100 billion in 2026 to deploy hybrid mini-grids for government agencies within and outside Abuja.
The Managing Directors, REA, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of the 2026 budget defence session
The approved funds form part of the National Public Sector Solarisation programme, a component of the agency’s broader N170 billion budget proposal for 2026.
The initiative is designed to improve electricity reliability for public institutions while reducing operational costs and easing pressure on the national grid.
Aliyu explained that the agency’s total proposed budget for 2026 stands at N170 billion, with N100 billion of the amount dedicated specifically to the solarisation initiative targeting government agencies.
He said the hybrid mini-grid systems combine solar power with complementary energy sources to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply.
“The total budget size for 2026 operations is N170 billion, out of which N100 billion had been approved for National Public Sector Solarisation.
Aliyu cited the National Hospital in Abuja as an example where similar infrastructure had been deployed to ensure stable power and cut operational expenses.He added that beyond the Solarisation
Recall that earlier in February 2026, REA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy solar power systems to 15 public institutions across Nigeria.
The project will be implemented under the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP), a World Bank-supported initiative aimed at expanding off-grid electricity access across West Africa and the Sahel.
ECOWAS will provide a $700,000 grant to fund the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in selected rural health centres and schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Nasarawa States.
Oil & Energy
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