German consultant wants Nigeria to develop small hydropower

German consultant wants Nigeria to develop small hydropower

A German energy consultant, Dr Klaus Heidler, has advised the Nigerian government to develop small hydropower sites to generate electricity.

Heidler, who gave the advice in an interview with reporters in Berlin on Wednesday, said small hydropower plants had high capacity of generating renewable energy.

Existing Small Hydropower in Germany

Reports say Small Hydropower (SHP) sites exist virtually in all parts of Germany and over 278 identified unexploited sites exist with the potential of generating 734MW.

So far, about eight sites with aggregate capacity of 37.0MW have been installed in Germany by private companies and the government.

Meeting the energy needs of people

The consultant said it would be good for Nigeria to concentrate on small hydro power plants and try to find private companies to manage them.

In his words, “it will take an average of 55 years for a country to switch from a fossil fuel to renewable energy and required a lot of technology and money to achieve that.”

The only solution, he said, was to incorporate renewable energy into the existing energy. 

“It will be good if the government can be committed in developing those sites, it will bring renewable energy in helping people to meet their energy needs. Hydropower energy has the potential to replace fossil energy source to people in remote locations,'' he said.

Need to explore other sources

Heidler also said that it was not advisable for a country to depend on one source of energy. 

“For example, if you depend on hydropower alone, you may not have enough supply during dry season because level of water will be low. For solar set, it works only during the day. So you will need to take at least four mix of renewable energy for sustainability in case of crisis situation or incase of extreme condition, ’’ he said.

NAN/Shakira/Williams