The recently released West Africa Economic Outlook by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, seen by Nairametrics, has shown that Nigeria has 30% solar PV potential.
According to the outlook, Nigeria is one of the countries in the West Africa region with the highest resources and economic potential for increased scaling of solar PV adoption.
Furthermore, the report also noted that data shows that Mali and Gambia have a 30% potential for developing solar PV technologies.
Meanwhile, Ghana has a 35% solar PV capacity and the Niger Republic has a 50% capacity for solar PV, even as Burkina Faso has a 60% solar PV potential.
Wind capacity: In the area of wind energy adoption, Nigeria has a 10% potential alongside Mali and Benin Republic. Meanwhile, Ghana has 25% potential and the Niger Republic has 30% potential. Meanwhile, Gambia has 60% potential, Senegal 70% potential and Cabo Verde an interesting 90% potential.
Small-scale hydropower: Nigeria recorded 30% potential for this energy source alongside Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Guinea-Bissau also recorded 40%, while Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Togo recorded 50%. Sierra Leone had 60%.
Biomass: Nigeria scored 30% potential for biomass alongside Togo, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Guinea. Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and Liberia emerged as the countries with the highest biomass energy potential in the West African region with 40%.
Share of renewable energy: The AfDB outlook noted that the power supply in West Africa is projected to grow from 51 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2010 to 247 TWh in 2030 and 600 TWh in 2050, creating opportunities to deploy renewable energy technologies across countries in the region.
According to the outlook, the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) which was first endorsed in 2012, aims to increase the region’s share of renewable energy in the overall electricity mix to 35% by 2020 and 48% by 2030.
For the record: The outlook stated that the share of new renewable energy such as wind, solar, small-scale hydro, and bioelectricity (excluding large hydro) will increase to around 10% by 2020 and 19% by 2030. These targets translate to an additional 2.425 MW of renewable electricity capacity by 2020 and 7.606 MW by 2030.