IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i3p840-d312230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Not There Yet: Mapping Inhibitions to Solar Energy Utilisation by Households in African Informal Urban Neighbourhoods

Author

Listed:
  • Aliyu Salisu Barau

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bayero University Kano, Kano 700241, Nigeria)

  • Aliyu Haidar Abubakar

    (Department of Environmental Management, Bayero University Kano, Kano 700241, Nigeria)

  • Abdul-Hakim Ibrahim Kiyawa

    (Tianjin Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Environmental Quality, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

Abstract

The average household access to electricity in Nigeria is estimated at four hours per day. This paradoxical energy crisis in a top oil and gas exporting country makes an interesting case for local and global players in the sustainable energy agenda. The current study showcases experiences of households that installed and use solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies in urban Africa. It identifies the key sociotechnical transition issues that shape the households’ solar energy adoption strategies. To get a clear picture of the situation, the study focuses on the Kano urban agglomeration—a densely populated city with high economic activities. To answer the research question, the sampled respondents shared their experiences via questionnaire and interviews. Similarly, field observations guided the research team to identify patterns of household solar energy use, and how urban planning, building, and roofing types inhibit solar energy utilisation. From the results of the study, it appeared that households use solar energy for lighting, energising rechargeable appliances, and cooling of houses. Nevertheless, none of the respondents use solar photovoltaics (PVs) for cooking—the biggest consumer of fuelwood in Nigeria. Finally, this study is optimistic that despite the challenges identified, the transition to clean energy security in Africa is achievable through coordinated efforts of people, industry, and governments. The transition to renewables by households promises significant changes that can lever the mainstreaming of the UN Sustainable Development Goals-SDG no. 7.

Suggested Citation

  • Aliyu Salisu Barau & Aliyu Haidar Abubakar & Abdul-Hakim Ibrahim Kiyawa, 2020. "Not There Yet: Mapping Inhibitions to Solar Energy Utilisation by Households in African Informal Urban Neighbourhoods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:840-:d:312230
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/840/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/840/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ohunakin, Olayinka S. & Adaramola, Muyiwa S. & Oyewola, Olanrewaju. M. & Fagbenle, Richard O., 2014. "Solar energy applications and development in Nigeria: Drivers and barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 294-301.
    2. Wirba, Asan Vernyuy & Abubakar Mas'ud, Abdullahi & Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Ahmad, Salman & Mat Tahar, Razman & Abdul Rahim, Ruzairi & Munir, Abu Bakar & Karim, Md Ershadul, 2015. "Renewable energy potentials in Cameroon: Prospects and challenges," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 560-565.
    3. Norbert Edomah & Chris Foulds & Aled Jones, 2016. "The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Selvakkumaran, Sujeetha & Ahlgren, Erik O., 2019. "Determining the factors of household energy transitions: A multi-domain study," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 54-75.
    5. Ikejemba, Eugene C.X. & Schuur, Peter C. & Van Hillegersberg, Jos & Mpuan, Peter B., 2017. "Failures & generic recommendations towards the sustainable management of renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (Part 2 of 2)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 639-647.
    6. Ozoegwu, C.G. & Mgbemene, C.A. & Ozor, P.A., 2017. "The status of solar energy integration and policy in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 457-471.
    7. Adesanya, Adewale A. & Pearce, Joshua M., 2019. "Economic viability of captive off-grid solar photovoltaic and diesel hybrid energy systems for the Nigerian private sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Unknown, 2016. "Energy for Sustainable Development," Conference Proceedings 253270, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    9. Diana Ürge-Vorsatz & Cynthia Rosenzweig & Richard J. Dawson & Roberto Sanchez Rodriguez & Xuemei Bai & Aliyu Salisu Barau & Karen C. Seto & Shobhakar Dhakal, 2018. "Locking in positive climate responses in cities," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(3), pages 174-177, March.
    10. Trotter, Philipp A. & Maconachie, Roy & McManus, Marcelle C., 2018. "Solar energy's potential to mitigate political risks: The case of an optimised Africa-wide network," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 108-126.
    11. Haiyan Zhang & Michael L. Lahr, 2018. "Households’ Energy Consumption Change in China: A Multi-Regional Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Kayode Olaniyan & Benjamin C. McLellan & Seiichi Ogata & Tetsuo Tezuka, 2018. "Estimating Residential Electricity Consumption in Nigeria to Support Energy Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    13. Oyedepo, Sunday Olayinka, 2012. "On energy for sustainable development in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2583-2598.
    14. Pillot, Benjamin & Muselli, Marc & Poggi, Philippe & Dias, João Batista, 2019. "Historical trends in global energy policy and renewable power system issues in Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of solar PV," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 113-124.
    15. Park, Sungjun & Kim, Jinsoo, 2018. "The effect of interest in renewable energy on US household electricity consumption: An analysis using Google Trends data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 1004-1010.
    16. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Behera, Bhagirath & Ali, Akhter, 2017. "Factors determining household use of clean and renewable energy sources for lighting in Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 661-672.
    17. da Silva, Patrícia Pereira & Cerqueira, Pedro André & Ogbe, Wojolomi, 2018. "Determinants of renewable energy growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from panel ARDL," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 45-54.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lucas B. Garcia & Fabiana Alves Fiore & Fernando L. C. Carvalho, 2023. "Factors Associated with the Use of Solar Energy in Urban Households - Case Study: Municipality of S o Jos Dos Campos," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(4), pages 522-530, July.
    2. Azunre, Gideon Abagna & Amponsah, Owusu & Takyi, Stephen Appiah & Mensah, Henry & Braimah, Imoro, 2022. "Urban informalities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A solution for or barrier against sustainable city development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ugwoke, B. & Gershon, O. & Becchio, C. & Corgnati, S.P. & Leone, P., 2020. "A review of Nigerian energy access studies: The story told so far," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    2. Aliyu, Abubakar Sadiq & Dada, Joseph O. & Adam, Ibrahim Khalil, 2015. "Current status and future prospects of renewable energy in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 336-346.
    3. Ozoegwu, Chigbogu G. & Akpan, Patrick U., 2021. "A review and appraisal of Nigeria's solar energy policy objectives and strategies against the backdrop of the renewable energy policy of the Economic Community of West African States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Daniel Akinyele & Juri Belikov & Yoash Levron, 2018. "Challenges of Microgrids in Remote Communities: A STEEP Model Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-35, February.
    5. Adewuyi, Oludamilare Bode & Lotfy, Mohammed E. & Akinloye, Benjamin Olabisi & Rashid Howlader, Harun Or & Senjyu, Tomonobu & Narayanan, Krishna, 2019. "Security-constrained optimal utility-scale solar PV investment planning for weak grids: Short reviews and techno-economic analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C), pages 16-30.
    6. Rômulo de Oliveira Azevêdo & Paulo Rotela Junior & Luiz Célio Souza Rocha & Gianfranco Chicco & Giancarlo Aquila & Rogério Santana Peruchi, 2020. "Identification and Analysis of Impact Factors on the Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Energy Investments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-40, September.
    7. Giwa, Adewale & Alabi, Adetunji & Yusuf, Ahmed & Olukan, Tuza, 2017. "A comprehensive review on biomass and solar energy for sustainable energy generation in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 620-641.
    8. Harrington, Elise & Athavankar, Ameya & Hsu, David, 2020. "Variation in rural household energy transitions for basic lighting in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Chen, Sai & Song, Yan & Zhang, Ming, 2021. "Study on the sustainability evaluation and development path selection of China’s coal base from the perspective of spatial field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    10. Sunil Indora & Tara C. Kandpal, 2020. "Solar energy for institutional cooking in India: prospects and potential," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 7153-7175, December.
    11. Okoye, Chiemeka Onyeka & Bahrami, Arian & Atikol, Ugur, 2018. "Evaluating the solar resource potential on different tracking surfaces in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1569-1581.
    12. Olexandr Yemelyanov & Anastasiya Symak & Tetyana Petrushka & Roman Lesyk & Lilia Lesyk, 2018. "Evaluation of the Adaptability of the Ukrainian Economy to Changes in Prices for Energy Carriers and to Energy Market Risks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-34, December.
    13. Umoh, Edwin A. & Lugga, Ahmad A., 2019. "Contextualizing hazard mitigation policy for electricity grids in the Sudan Sahel Region of Nigeria," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 135-143.
    14. Henry, Candise L. & Baker, Justin S. & Shaw, Brooke K. & Kondash, Andrew J. & Leiva, Benjamín & Castellanos, Edwin & Wade, Christopher M. & Lord, Benjamin & Van Houtven, George & Redmon, Jennifer Hopo, 2021. "How will renewable energy development goals affect energy poverty in Guatemala?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    15. Indora, Sunil & Kandpal, Tara C., 2018. "Institutional and community solar cooking in India using SK-23 and Scheffler solar cookers: A financial appraisal," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 501-511.
    16. Vidadili, Nurtaj & Suleymanov, Elchin & Bulut, Cihan & Mahmudlu, Ceyhun, 2017. "Transition to renewable energy and sustainable energy development in Azerbaijan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1153-1161.
    17. Somoye, Oluwatoyin Abidemi, 2023. "Energy crisis and renewable energy potentials in Nigeria: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    18. Fernando Antonanzas-Torres & Javier Antonanzas & Julio Blanco-Fernandez, 2021. "State-of-the-Art of Mini Grids for Rural Electrification in West Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    19. Adesanya, Adewale A. & Pearce, Joshua M., 2019. "Economic viability of captive off-grid solar photovoltaic and diesel hybrid energy systems for the Nigerian private sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Swain, Swadhina Shikha & Mishra, Pulak, 2021. "How does cleaner energy transition influence standard of living and natural resources conservation? A study of households’ perceptions in rural Odisha, India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PB).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:840-:d:312230. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.