Opportunities and challenges in the renewable energy sources in Federal Capital Territory, Niger and Kogi States.

Abstract

Electrical/Electronic technology engineering in FCT, Niger and Kogi states. The sample was drawn through a simple random sampling technique from a total of four higher institutions (two in Niger, one in Kogi, and one in FCT) and Energy commission of Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire on challenges and opportunities of renewable energy sources which was face validated by three lecturers of electrical/electronic technology in Federal University of Technology, Minna. Data obtained were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The result obtained revealed that renewable energy can generate megawatts of electricity, create thousands of jobs, improve agricultural practices and public health, stimulate industrial development among others. The also revealed lack of skilled manpower, high cost of investment in renewable energy, inadequate awareness o the potentials or opportunities in renewable energy sources, government's overdependence on non-renewable energy sources such as gas and thermal among others are some of the challenges hindering the exploitation of renewable energy in north-central Nigeria. It was therefore recommended among others that government at various levels should pay more attention to renewable energy sources by allocating more resources to it in their budget