Towards Sustainable Energy in Nigeria and West Africa

The report examines the energy transition in Nigeria and West Africa, highlighting the region's vast renewable potential against the backdrop of dilapidated grid infrastructure and low electricity access. It identifies a trend of fragmented, small-scale green projects—such as solar initiatives in Nigerian universities and private sector power generation—and argues that these must be integrated into holistic national and regional plans. The document warns that the risk of 'stranded' hydrocarbon assets creates a limited window for countries to use fossil fuel revenues to fund renewable investments. It concludes that achieving sustainable energy goals requires better alignment between research and policy, increased investment in granular data analysis, and improved regional coordination through bodies like ECOWAS.

• West Africa faces a significant energy access gap, with over 57% of citizens in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) lacking access to modern energy. Only 126.2 million of the 300.7 million ECOWAS citizens have electricity access.
• Nigeria's energy infrastructure is severely hampered by a dilapidated grid; in August 2017, only 4,000 MW of a record 7,000 MW electricity output actually reached consumers.
• There is a proliferation of decentralized green energy projects in Nigeria, including solar-powered petrol stations, embedded-power projects in Lagos's Ikeja district, and universities like Benin and Port Harcourt that are 100% self-sufficient via clean energy.
• The risk of 'stranded assets'—where oil, gas, and coal may become unusable due to climate targets—means African producers have a limited timeframe to use fossil fuel revenues to fund the transition to renewables.
• The transition in West Africa is hindered by policy fragmentation, a lack of alignment between research and energy policies, and a failure to invest in granular data mapping of renewable resources.

APA

Bello-Schunemann, J. (2018). Towards Sustainable Energy in Nigeria and West Africa. Good Governance Africa. https://gga.org/issue-44-towards-sustainable-energy-in-nigeria-and-west-africa/

Chicago

Bello-Schunemann, Julia. Towards Sustainable Energy in Nigeria and West Africa. Good Governance Africa, 2018. https://gga.org/issue-44-towards-sustainable-energy-in-nigeria-and-west-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bello-Schunemann |first1=Julia |title=Towards Sustainable Energy in Nigeria and West Africa |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=16 February 2018 |url=https://gga.org/issue-44-towards-sustainable-energy-in-nigeria-and-west-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{belloschunemann2018towards, author = {Bello-Schunemann, Julia}, title = {{Towards Sustainable Energy in Nigeria and West Africa}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://gga.org/issue-44-towards-sustainable-energy-in-nigeria-and-west-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }