CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria is one of the countries in West Africa sub-region with total population of 170,123,749 in 2012 and an annual growth rate of 2.55% (CIA, 2012). Agricultural land constitutes approximately 74,500,000 ha of the total land area of 91,077,000 ha for the country. About 41.2% of the agricultural land is arable land, 11.3% forest area and 3.3% permanently cropped area. Close to 70% of Nigerian population are involved in agricultural production with more than 70% of the farming population being smallholder farmers (< 5 ha per person). About 48% of the country's population lives in the rural areas with more than 70% of the country's population living below the poverty line (CIA, 2012).

Nigeria is the sixth largest crude oil producing countries in the world. Over 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary allocation of Nigeria comes from oil (CIA, 2012), even though the oil sector contributes only 30% to Gross Domestic product (GDP) in comparison to 40% from agriculture (Oniemola and Sanusi, 2007). The GDP for Nigeria in 2011 was $238.9 billion (Table 1). Agriculture’s contribution to the non-oil GDP has been consistently stable at about 40% in the recent years. Industrial production rate in 2011 was 2.5% with industrial sector contributing 33.6% of the GDP while services sector of the economy supply 31% of the GDP. Major foreign exchange sources are crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, rubber products, hides and skin, textiles and cements (CIA, 2012).

The estimated total energy consumption in Nigeria in 2009 was about 4.6 EJ or 111MTOE (IEA, 2012). Figure 1 shows the energy consumption in Nigeria. Traditional biomass (wood fuel and charcoal) accounted for 85% of total energy consumption which has contributed to desertification, deforestation and erosion in the country. This high percent share of biomass represents its use to meet off-grid heating and cooking, mainly in rural areas

Figure 1. Energy consumption in Nigeria, 2009. Source: IEA (2012).

and by the urban poor. It has been estimated that about 80% of Nigerian households living in the rural and urban areas use wood fuel and charcoal for cooking and heating (Sambo, 2006).

A major need for industrial and commercial sectors of any country is availability of reliable electricity. Access to electricity is particularly crucial to human development as electricity is indispensable for essentials of life, the manufacturing and industrial sectors, and providing reliable public infrastructure (e.g. airports, street lights) of the country.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Electricity is needed for economic growth, national development and improved standard of living (Sambo, 2006). Nigeria electricity supply system is an interconnected national grid system (Akinbami, 2001). Access to electricity is however low- about 40% on the average and as low as 18% in the rural areas (Nussbaumer et al., 2011) because of the low amount of electricity produced in Nigeria (IEA, 2012). In addition, close to 60% (that is, 80 million) Nigerians are not connected to the national electricity grid. There is also frequent power outages that can last up to 20 h daily in places connected to the grid (Akande and Olorunfemi, 2009). The low amount of electricity produced and the electricity grid problems contribute to the low per capita consumption (≈100 kWh) of electricity in Nigeria in comparison to consumption of over 10,000 kWh in developed countries (FGN, 2006). Power unreliability and unavailability have prompted industrial firms, households and commercial enterprises to depend on private diesel and petrol fueled generators (Akinbami, 2001) which have unfortunately resulted in the death of several Nigerians because of health issue such as inhaling of carbon monoxide. The persistent energy crisis in Nigeria has weakened industrialization in the country. This has significantly undermined efforts to achieve sustained economic growth, increased competitiveness of indigenous industries in domestic, regional and global markets as well as employment generation (Iwayemi, 2008).

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to determine the occurrence of bio-energy and the energy potential of biomass in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the biomass and bio-energy source and resources in Nigeria
2. to determine the drivers of biomass and bioenergy in Nigeria
3. to examine the biomass and bioenergy convertion in Nigeria
4. to examine whether biomass and bioenergy convertion in Nigeria is efficient
5. to recommend ways to improve the utilization of biomass and bioenergy in Nigeria

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions for the study are:

1.  What are the biomass and bio-energy sources and resources in Nigeria?
2. What are the drivers of biomass and bioenergy in Nigeria?
3. How efficient is the biomass and bioenergy convertion in Nigeria?
4. How efficient is the biomass and bioenergy convertion in Nigeria?
5. What are the ways to improve the utilization of biomass and bioenergy in Nigeria?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 The study on occurrence of bio-energy and the energy potential of biomass in Nigeria will be of immense benefit to the energy sector in Nigeria. The study will explore the biomass and bioenergy potential in Nigeria. The findings of the study will educate the federal government of Nigeria the best form of energy in Nigeria. The study will also serve as a repository of information to other researchers and students that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the existing literature on the occurrence of bio-energy and the energy potential of biomass in Nigeria.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study covers on occurrence of bio-energy and the energy potential of biomass in Nigeria.

1.7 ORGANISATION OF CHAPTERS

This section deals with the organization of the research work in chapters; the chapter one of the research work will cover the background of the study, the statement of problem, the aims and objectives of study, significance and the scope of study, the chapter two will deal with the review of related literature on occurrence of bio-energy and the energy potential of biomass in Nigeria. The chapter three of the research work will cover the areas of materials and method. The chapter four will cover the experiment while the chapter five will cover the summary, conclusion and possible recommendation for the research work

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

BIOMASS: Biomass is plant or animal material used for energy production, or in various industrial processes as raw substance for a range of products. It can be purposely grown energy crops, wood or forest residues, waste from food crops, horticulture, food processing, animal farming, or human waste from sewage plants.

BIOENERGY: Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy