Electricity + Control October 2017

round up

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION

Powering Nigeria’s global economic rise

Generating a sustainable future To make electricity more easily accessible to the whole population, power generation capacity must be ramped up and streamlined. The Azura Edo Independent Power Project (IPP) helps to meet both of these criteria. This open cycle gas turbine will generate an additional 459 MW to the national grid when it comes online in 2018. Once fully completed, it is expected to add 3 GW of additional capacity – accounting for approximately 20% of Nigeria’s projected installed capacity by 2020. That is a massive increase in power gen- eration for a country at Nigeria’s stage of development. In recent years, there has been a mind shift away from the tra- ditional notion of generating large volumes of power for the entire population from only a handful of large centralised sources. We are now turning to smaller decentralised sources to generate electrici- ty closer to the people who use it. In a decentralised system, there are more small-scale individual producers that are all connected to the grid, ensuring an effective and reliable supply where it is needed. There are many technolo- gies that make up decentralised power generation, including gas, solar, wind and hydro. Another growing trend is mobile power generation – a plug and play solution where an entirely modular station can be built and modified to exact specifications and delivered to industrial plants that operate in remotely-located regions with poor infrastructure. Accessing power through a smart digital grid Transmission and distribution are equally challenging links in the Nigerian electrification value chain. These challenges are exacer- bated with an evolving demographic that has a growing population migrating to the cities that are ill-equipped to absorb this growth. Access to electricity is fundamental to sustaining these growing urban populations and creating efficient cities that run on smart dig- ital grids. In other words, cities that function seamlessly on a sus- tainable electricity network that sends and receives accurate data and information in real-time. A smart digital grid allows renewable energy to be integrated into existing power networks, resulting in the reliable and efficient supply of sustainable electricity to all are- as that need it. It also takes into account illegal connections, which obstruct seamless electricity transmission and distribution. Without sophisticated tracking systems to pinpoint illegal con- nections, electricity theft reduces power availability for paying cus- tomers, and has severe financial implications for Nigerian distribu- tion companies (DisCos). Manual revenue collection also opens up the door for corruption. This is where smart metering software is Siemens is responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the Azura Edo IPP, near Benin City in Edo State. Siemens has supplied the project with three SSC5-2000E large gas turbines that generate the current 459 MW capacity. Siemens was also awarded a 12-year contract for the mainte- nance and service of the power plant. To date, Siemens has supplied Nigerian power plants with 11 gas turbines with an overall capacity of 1 583 MW.

Nigeria continues its ascendency as Africa’s largest economy, de- spite having just 25% of the power generation capacity of its eco- nomic rival South Africa. Having achieved so much with so little, there is no doubt that Nigeria has the potential to become Africa’s first global superpower. “International studies suggest that Nigeria could potentially achieve over 7% annual GDP growth, making it a top-20 economy by 2030 with GDP of more than US$ 1,6 trillion – four times the current GDP,” says Siemens Nigeria CEO Onyeche Tifase. “This translates into 70 million people being moved above the poverty line in little more than a decade. But the fact remains that this potential will never be realised without sufficient access to end-to-end electrification, which is the backbone of any thriving economy. This includes power generation, transmission, distribu- tion and the efficient application of electrical energy through au- tomation.” 60% of Nigeria’s 182 million population have access to elec- tricity. The majority of this power is generated by an ageing and inefficient grid that loses 8,6 GW (69%) of the country’s 12,5 GW installed capacity. These substantial losses are a result of inefficient controls, monitoring technology and outdated infrastructure. Investment in proven end-to-end electrification technology will directly tackle the scourge of unemployment, poverty and inequality, creating an inclusive and prosperous Nigeria. With uninterrupted access to electricity, businesses are more productive, hospitals provide bet- ter medical care, children receive a better education at school, and homes are safer and more comfortable.

18 Electricity + Control

OCTOBER 2017