On Nigeria's renewable energy program: Examining the effectiveness, substitution potential, and the impact on national output

Boqiang Lin () and Isaac Ankrah

Energy, 2019, vol. 167, issue C, 1181-1193

Abstract: Considering the objectives of Nigeria's Renewable Energy Program, three basic questions are asked in this study: Can Nigeria really build its economy on renewable energy? Is it possible to substitute nonrenewable energy for renewable energy? What is the impact of renewable energy on the economy? This study primarily analyzes renewable energy development in Nigeria. Among other things, we estimate the economic impact, output elasticity, and the substitution possibilities of both renewable and nonrenewable energies. Our findings, based on a dataset from 1980 to 2015, in the framework of the translog production function, show that capital and labor are the main drivers of output in Nigeria; however, the economic impact of both energy types (renewable and nonrenewable) are insignificant, even though positive. With output and substitution elasticities being positive, this study confirms the possibility of moving towards a renewable power generation, but also highlights the limitation associated with such transition, citing inherent problems such as power density and scale, cost, and location. Based on Nigeria's economic and industrialization agenda, this study agrees with the respective strategies enshrined in the Renewable Energy Program but recommends that its implementation should be gradual and in accordance with Nigeria's economic goals.

Keywords: Nigeria; Economic growth; Renewable energy; Translog production function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544218322357
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:167:y:2019:i:c:p:1181-1193

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.031

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().