Energy Consumption in Transport Sector in Nigeria: Current situation and ways forward

Energy use in the transportation sector includes the energy consumed in moving people and goods by road, rail, air, water, and pipeline. Transportation sector energy demand hinges on growth rates for both economic activity and the driving-age population. Economic growth spurs increases in industrial output, which requires the movement of raw materials to manufacturing sites, as well as the movement of manufactured goods to end users. Nigerian transportation fuel use, much of it in the form of liquid fuels increased over the period from 2005 to 2009. Passenger transportation energy use includes fuels used in light-duty vehicles, buses, aircraft, and passenger trains. Freight transportation energy use includes fuels used by large trucks, freight trains, and both domestic and international marine vessels. This paper discusses among other things, the transport modes and their energy consumption pattern looking at the implications of the trend in energy utilization to the national energy consumption. It also looks at the share of the transport sector energy consumption in the country and recommended the possible ways of improving it. Keywords: Energy Consumption, Energy Balance, fossil fuel, Transportation modes, etc.

Sustainable Energy Future for Nigeria: The Role of Engineers

Energy is an essential input for social development and economic growth. It provides basic needs and services such as heating, cooling, cooking, lighting, and transportation and is a critical production factor in virtually all sectors of industry. Sustainable energy development has currently taken over the lead as the most focal point in determining the developmental level of countries in the world. This paper discussed the current status of energy, examined the development and energy infrastructure in Nigeria. Engineers have a unique role to play in order to achieve this objective when compared with other occupations in industrial organizations. They play a semi-independent role influenced by their national diversity. Engineers, therefore, are under increasing pressure to redefine their roles and re-equip themselves with necessary skills and knowledge to meet adequately the contemporary changes. The paper also looked at the challenges engineers face in carrying out this role and also made suggestion of the possible ways of addressing those challenges

Indoor comfort and adaptation in low-income and middle-income residential buildings in a Nigerian city during a dry season

This paper investigates occupants' comfort, adaptation and their responses during the dry season in low-income to middle-income residential buildings in Abuja, Nigeria. The study aims to provide empirical data on occupants' comfort through evaluating 171 households in four different locations in Abuja. The study considered a combination of different research methods for data collection. Post-occupancy surveys were used to evaluate the buildings and residents' adaptation within the thermal environment. Thermal comfort surveys were also carried out in eight low-income residential households to assess occupants' perception of the thermal environment. Based on the short duration of the physical measurements, building simulation was also used to examine thermal comfort of occupants for an extended period. The Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) results revealed over 70% of the occupants were dissatisfied with their thermal environment. The comfort surveys reported similar results with over 65% of the responses revealed being ‘uncomfortably warm’. The results showed an overall mean temperature of all the measured case studies to be 31.7 °C and the average temperature (predicted) of 30.7 °C. The neutral temperatures were in a range of 28°C–30.4 °C compared to the preferred temperature range of 27.5°C–29.4 °C. The prevalence of thermal discomfort highlights the need to explore the possibilities of reducing internal temperatures, particularly by passive means (fabric, shading, insulation etc.) given the need to avoid or reduce the need for air conditioning to make the buildings energy-efficient for low to middle income groups

Empirical models for estimating monthly global solar radiation: a most comprehensive review and comparative case study in China

Global solar radiation is a core component of scientific research and engineering application across a broad spectrum. However, its measurement is limited by a small number of stations due to the technical and financial restricts. Estimating solar radiation with the meteorological variables using empirical models is of benefit to obtain solar radiation data at global scale. Yet, there are various options of available empirical models to select the most suitable one. This study conducted a most comprehensive collection and review of empirical models employing the commonly measured meteorological variables and geographic factors. A total of 294 different types of empirical models were collected and classified into 37 groups according to input attributes. Such collection built an empirical model library providing an overall overview of the developed empirical models in literatures. Furthermore, the collected models were calibrated and evaluated at three meteorological stations in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area in China. This study suggests that these model-comparing processes can assist the governments, scientists and engineers in tailoring the most fitted model for specific applications and in particular areas

Economic Growth Modelling in Africa: An Application of Bayesian Model Averaging

<p>The study seeks to model economic growth in Africa using the Bayesian Model Averaging technique. The dataset for the study is a pooled dataset spanning through 2010 to 2021 yearly for seven variables namely: Economic growth (GDP), inflation, unemployment, government consumption, food production,exchange rate and trade openness in 24 Africa economies. The Bayesian Model Averaging technique is adopted having the capacity to extract the posterior inclusion  probability under different model prior associated with g- priors attributed to different Bayesian Model Sampling  Scheme. Findings from the study shows that, in modelling economic growth in Africa, a BMA with Uniform model prior with EBL gprior is most plausible while on the basis of sub-regions, the most plausible BMA model is Uniform model prior with Hyper gprior having accounted for the highest Posterior Model Probability correlation value. Bayesian models with other variants of g-prior should be explored for better detection of the true determinants of economic growth among feasible identified factors under consideration.</p><p>Keywords:- Economic growth, g-prior, Posterior Model Prior, Posterior Inclusion Probability, BMA.</p&gt

The feasibility of renewable energy sources for pumping clean water in sub-Saharan Africa: A case study for Central Nigeria

This article was published in the journal, Renewable Energy [© Elsevier]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2010.12.019With less than 6 mm of rain from November through February every year, the central regions of Nigeria are in acute need of safe and consistent water supplies for drinking and other domestic or agricultural uses. Borehole supplies are capable of meeting a significant proportion of water needs, but ongoing fuel costs to power a generator and pump add a heavy burden to already disadvantaged communities. In this study, a techno-economic analysis is carried out in order to assess the feasibility of renewable energy sources and technologies to substitute for fossil-fuel powered pumping platforms. The results indicate that there is sufficient solar resource throughout these regions to facilitate relatively cost effective water pumping solutions, as well as a potentially effective wind resource depending on the exact location of the pumping station. Although systems based on these resources have high capital costs compared to petrol or diesel-based platforms, over a 20-year project life, the analysis indicates that ongoing fuel costs for a fossil-fuel-based system greatly outweigh the increased up-front costs of renewable alternatives. In conclusion, the results indicate that if the water demand at a particular site exceeds the capabilities of a hand pump, a renewable energy-powered pumping system is an attractive option, both economically and logistically in comparison to fossil-fuel-powered alternatives