Powering the Commercial Sector in Nigeria Using Urban Swarm Solar Electrification

Abisoye Babajide and Miguel Centeno Brito
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Abisoye Babajide: Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Miguel Centeno Brito: Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: The commercial sector in Nigeria has been greatly hampered due to the poor availability of reliable electricity. In a 2014 World Bank report, nearly half of the firms doing business in Nigeria identified electricity as a major constraint, with over a quarter of them listing electricity as their biggest obstacle. The business losses due to electrical outages have been significant, with losses averaging about 16% of annual sales. The lack of access to reliable electricity is one of the biggest challenges to economic growth in Nigeria. This paper proposes a means of powering the commercial sector in Nigeria using urban swarm electrification. It outlines a conceptual framework for using a distributed network made up of grid-connected home solar PV systems as a viable option for providing the commercial sector with more reliable access to electricity. It further addresses the policy implications for the commercial sector with the enablement of more electrification options, implications that include strong economic impact, as well as the expansion and creation of new industries.

Keywords: renewable energy (RE); developing countries; solar home system (SHS); electricity generation; distributed network; microgrids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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