Using GIS to Prospect for Renewable Energy in Nigeria

Two major challenges facing the world and Nigeria in particular are the need to satisfy the escalating demand for energy, and also deal with the degrading environmental impacts of energy production and usage. Green energy investments have been proposed as a viable solution to this energy crisis, however, a major factor hindering the comprehensive design and assessment of solar and wind energy conversion systems is adequate information on the solar radiation characteristics and wind pattern of the region in which the systems are to be located. This study, focused on Nigeria, investigated, in a geographic information system, the spatial and seasonal variation in wind and solar energy over Nigeria, using the United States' National Aeronautical Space Agency's surface meteorology and solar energy (version 6) dataset. Comparing ground measured and satellite derived data at 35 locations within Nigeria, the study concluded that remote sensing is a reliable method for analyzing solar energy for this data sparse region. The book is designed to provide a knowledge base for scientists to launch major national initiatives to promote the design of site-specific wind and solar energy systems.