RURAL SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION IN NIGERIA: RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIALS AND DISTRIBUTION FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

摘要

Rural solar electrification has been on the agenda of many developing countries in recent years. In spite of this, in Africa, power is in accessible, unaffordable, and unreliable leaving most Africans in darkness. The proportion of rural population in the Sub-Saharan Africa that have an electricity is, for instance as low as 8%. Thus, all over the world, the GNP of any nation depends largely on energy consumption per capita and the growth of the macro-economic of the locality. This paper looks at the potentials of limitless untapped renewable energy sources, how to support innovative, cost effective, and easily accessible renewable energy sources in Nigeria to close the gap of 60 to 70% of Nigerians that did not have access to energy. The paper also examines rural solar electrification for particular communities in Nigeria and the impact it has on economic development, and recommendations made will benefit other African countries at large.