AN ASSESSMENT OF NIGERIA WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL BASED ON TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ANALYSES

The energy requirement of Nigeria is increasing exponentially with little projects available to carter for this increasing demand. The primary source of energy in the country which is fossil fuel creates environmental pollution and is also finite in nature. Hence, there is a serious need to look for other alternative ways to meet up with the energy requirement of the country. This paper analysed some of the economic and sustainability benefits for Nigeria by deploying and integrating wind energy into her energy mix. The study was done with the RETScreen Clean Energy software tool, designed by Natural Resources Canada. The study began with a brief review of the various wind energy resource assessment done previously in the country and Maiduguri town was selected as the area of study from the reviews. The technical and financial analyses of the study showed that if the project is implemented it will be beneficial to Maiduguri town and Nigeria in the long run. The process of electricity generation from 100 units of VESTAS V80 in Maiduguri yielded MWh 525,600 and saves about 202,881.6 tonnes of CO2. Without incentives, the financial analysis showed that the project is not financially viable with the equity payback greater than the project life. Key issues affecting the development of wind energy technology in Nigeria were also discussed.