Energy Democracy — Understanding Our Alternatives: Wind Power and Nigeria’s effort to join the Global Wind Market.

“Energy Democracy — Understanding Our Alternatives: Wind Power and Nigeria’s effort to join the Global Wind Market.

Wind turbines first emerged more than a century ago. Following the invention of the electric generator in the 1830s, engineers started attempting to harness wind energy to produce electricity. Modern wind power is considered to have been first developed in Denmark, where horizontal-axis wind turbines were built in 1891 and a 22.8-metre wind turbine began operation in 1897.

As the name clearly implies, Wind energy is energy obtained from the force of the wind. It is done through a wind turbine that transforms the kinetic energy of air currents into electrical energy. Wind turbines work on a simple principle: instead of using electricity to make wind — like a fan — wind turbines use wind to make electricity. It has often been described as “the opposite of a fan.” The energy is mainly extracted with the rotor, which transforms the kinetic energy into mechanical energy, and with the generator, which transforms this mechanical energy into electrical energy. We are talking about a renewable, efficient, mature and secure source of energy that is key to the energy transition and the decarburization of the economy.

These turbines depend solely on wind and funny enough, Wind power actually starts with the Sun. Solar radiation does not affect the earth’s surface equally; some areas are warmer than others, and in these areas the air, which weighs less, tends to rise, creating low pressure areas, while in colder areas the air descends and weighs more, creating high pressure areas. Cooler air then rushes in to fill the void left by that hot air. The difference in pressure causes the air to move and creates wind, an element so powerful that it can be used to generate energy. Other factors like Irregularities of the earth’s surface and the rotation of the earth have also been held responsible for wind formation.

People have used the power of wind for thousands of years. Wind has moved boats along the Nile River, pumped water and milled grain, supported food production and much more. Today, this kinetic energy and power of natural air flows are harnessed at massive scale to create electricity. A single, modern-day offshore wind turbine can generate more than 8 megawatts (MW) of energy, enough to cleanly power nearly six homes for a year. Onshore wind farms generate hundreds of megawatts, making wind energy one of the most cost-effective, clean and readily available energy sources on the planet.

Asides being free and in massive abundance, Wind energy has a host of other advantages.

First and most notable is the environmental benefit. Wind turbines produce a negligible amount of greenhouse gasses throughout their lifetime. Wind power has a remarkably small impact upon the carbon footprint. There are zero carbon emissions associated with the operation of wind turbines. The only emissions emitted from wind turbines arise from their manufacture, construction and maintenance and these can be curtailed with Carbon capture technology and thus, the harmful effects of such gases are then recouped within less than a year of clean operation. It rather helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions — in 2018, it avoided 201 million metric tons of C02 emissions.

It also has one of the lowest water consumption footprints, unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power plants. Most conventional power plants operate on high pressure steam created by heating via fossil fuels or nuclear power. This not only has negative impacts on the environment due to the burnt fuel, but also wastes clean water used in the cooling cycle. Meanwhile wind turbines only require the presence of wind and they therefore avoid wasting drinking water.

Economically, Wind energy provides many avenues that can stimulate economic growth. It provides various jobs, such as in the construction of the turbines themselves, the power lines and roads necessary to support them, as well as in maintenance and operation. It is independent of external fuel supply, but is instead tightly bound to the location, which leads to improvement of the local economy by providing jobs to well educated specialists. In many regions of the country or in any country, one of the major hindrances the skilled and innovative population face is lack of access to power, having their own community power generated for them in their own location will go a long way to increase their productivity.

Furthermore, Wind turbines are also a great resource to help generate energy in remote locations where the national grid is clearly “too short” to reach in all these years. It can be combined with Solar Energy in order to generate a sustainable energy source in these communities.

Wind energy is also space-efficient. Cumulatively, wind farms can take up a lot of land space; however, the actual turbines and equipment don’t use up a lot of real-estate since turbines are slender towers with a large rotor on top, their footprint on ground level is much smaller than that of any other energy source. This means that land used for wind turbines can often also be used for other purposes, such as farming. It is possible to install wind turbines between fields of crop and pastures without a negative impact on farming. Since wide open areas such as fields are optimal locations for wind turbines, due to the wind being non turbulent and unimpeded, they operate at high efficiencies. This allows farmers to contribute to the environment and earn money by either renting the small plots of land to power companies or even possibly by installing wind turbines by themselves and selling the energy produced.

Another notable advantage is the fact that wind energy doesn’t require any fuel and the turbines can safely operate for well over 20 years, combined with shrinking initial costs, the price of electricity produced by wind power plants is low and stable, independent of fluctuating fuel prices or policy bullying from the government.

Looking away from the numerous advantages for a minute, it is also pertinent to discuss the Disadvantages of Wind Power. Being a reliable energy source does not make it adverse-proof.

First, Wind energy has a lot in common with solar energy in terms of consistency. Although wind energy qualifies as a renewable resource, wind speeds fluctuate each day and is very inconsistent. This can be a big disappointment to wind turbine developers who will commit every penny and every ounce of energy in the project only to end up with fluctuating wind patterns. Added to that, Wind turbines depend on a suitable wind speed in order to generate electricity. If wind speed is below or above a certain threshold, it won’t operate. The controller Starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they may be damaged by the high winds. This is why developers must do their research first to pinpoint the best location for setting up turbines before actual installation. The best location must have a sufficient supply of wind. This explains why you’ll almost always see wind turbines installed on top of high elevations like hills and mountains or offshores where there are minimal obstacles that could potentially slow down the speed of the wind. Higher elevations are preferred since the higher up you go, the stronger the winds.

Wind turbines generate a lot less power than the average fossil fuelled power station, requiring multiple wind turbines to be built in order to make an impact.

Secondly, Wind turbines involve high upfront capital investment. A lot has been done to bring down the cost of installing turbines; the overall costs, however, remain on the higher side. The first step to installing a turbine is usually to do a rigorous survey to determine the wind speed of the location. This involves erecting a sample turbine to gauge the wind speeds over a stipulated period. If the location is found to be ideal, the wind turbine will be manufactured and transported to the site and set up on a strong foundation. The entire process adds up to the cost of setting up a wind turbine. When talking about offshore wind turbines, the cost becomes more pronounced. This is because it’s a daunting task to install wind turbines offshore than onshore. Some firms even go to the extent of commissioning bespoke ships with the ability to transport and install wind turbines at sea.

Another disadvantage which is still largely arguable is that it may reduce the local bird population. I do not totally agree with this but it is held that Wind turbines are particularly disadvantageous to the local bird species. A lot of bird death as a result of a collision with turbine blades has been reported in these areas. It is feared that it can wipe out the population of certain bird species. I recognize this as a disadvantage but not a notable one. Birds are known most times for their vision and in most cases, they do not fly towards moving objects but away from them and Wind Turbines are so closely built, thus evading them is no herculean task even for a sparrow. However, there has been an influx of bladeless wind turbines in the marketplace designed to reduce bird deaths. This could be a game-changer for turbine manufacturers.

Also, wind turbines require them to dig deep into the earth which could have a negative effect on the underground habitats.

Furthermore, is has been argued that the most hated disadvantage of wind turbines is the noise they produce. The sound produced by one turbine can be perceived from far distances. Combine many turbines, and the noise becomes unbearable. Many homeowners’ lives have been turned upside down due to the noise pollution from turbines.

Although the emphasis and solution to this is to site wind turbines away from the local community, most companies in certain countries disregard this rule. This explains the strong public objections in most regions (All outside Africa) to wind turbine installations in most areas. The visual pollution is another reason given by many people too as to why they do not find it attractive to install it in their backyard.

Lastly, Wind turbines can be a safety hazard. In the last couple of decades, the frequency of tornadoes, hurricanes, and cyclones has increased considerably. Now, these severe storms can cause extensive damage to the wind turbines and can be a safety hazard to the people working in these wind farms. The damage may cause huge damage to wind turbines. But in areas like Nigeria where these incidents are not a regular incident, this disadvantage is far-fetched.

The potential in Wind power is massive and this is why Nigeria needs to get more involved in the industry. Wind power is the lowest-cost large-scale renewable energy source and today, it is the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S. They have nearly 60,000 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 105,583 megawatts (MW). That’s enough to power more than 32 million homes! Even in the UK, the UK’s Government committed to increasing the proportion of UK’s energy that comes from renewable sources from 3% in 2009 to 15% in 2020 and achieved this significantly. Additionally, they also set aside £45 billion for decommissioning its nuclear power stations, that is, enough to pay for wind turbines to provide 40% of the UK’s total power demand. According to research conducted by EMP economists and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Wind-rich counties like the US, installations of wind turbines increase total personal incomes and create jobs. The team found that, for every megawatt of wind capacity installed from 2000 to 2008, annual total personal income rose by approximately $11,000, and 0.5 jobs were created. After accounting for economic activity in other sectors, the top counties for wind development gained an average of 132 net jobs attributable to turbine installations, operations or land lease payments.

All these facts show clearly that a lot can be gotten from the Wind Energy Industry. Nigeria previously had made a few steps to joining this trend and the most notable remains the Wind Farm in Kastina. Fortunately, the government announced a few weeks ago that it had completed the project and it was set for commissioning. The Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman who announced the development via a tweet said the project is set for commissioning later in the month (April). He listed components of the project to include engineering, procurement, construction and installation of 37 Nos GEVMP (275KW) wind turbine generators, Step-up Transformers for each turbine 315KVA/33KV/400V, SCADA system (for data collection, performance monitoring, control and supervision), installation of 2× 7.5MWA transformer and accessories as well as two years operation and maintenance spare parts. A very notable and encouraging step. But in 2021, it is sad to say that for a country like Nigeria with such high demand for Energy, it is way too infinitesimal.

Wind power is a very efficient long term renewable energy source and has a lot to contribute to Global and National energy. The various agencies in place to regulate, authorize and maintain Wind Power installations are either under-staffed or don’t even exist. It is a wrong way to go in growing the industry. Hopefully, the full potential of this beautiful source will be discovered and fully utilized.