Opportunities and Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sources in Federal Capital Territory, Niger and Kogi States in Nigeria.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges and opportunities in the emerging renewable energy sources in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Niger and Kogi States of Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. The design used for the study was a survey research design. The simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample for the study which composed of 20 Technical staff from Energy commission of Nigeria who are experts in renewable energy, and 65 lecturers drawn from higher institutions offering Electrical/Electronic technology/engineering in FCT, Niger and KogiStates. 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 onchallenges 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 results 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 study also revealed lack of skilled manpower, high cost of investment in renewable energy, inadequate awareness on 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.