GIS-BASED APPROACH TO SMALL HYDROPOWER POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT ALONG RIVER OGUN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Electricity access is one of the challenges faced in Nigeria today; and this problem is more pronounced in the
rural communities. Connecting rural communities to the national grid is always a problem due the financial and
logistical constraints of extending power through difficult terrain. To meet the energy demands of this deprived vast
rural population small hydropower plants are recommended to be built and installed. Small hydropower is a clean
renewable and reliable energy alternative that meets the economic and environmental energy policy objectives.
Improved technological development in GIS and remote sensing provides alternative methodologies for the
assessment of theoretical hydropower potentials. This study provides a methodological pathway towards identifying
small hydropower potentials for rural communities along the River Course. Input data for the study include Digital
Elevation Model (DEM), precipitation and evaporation collected in raster, and population data. The study identified
a total of 57 potential hydropower sites with a maximum energy potential of 5.80 mw site. Ogun River has 75380kW
of potential energy distributed along the river course in Ogun State. The estimated energy potential is expected to
support about 22,040, 16530, and 11020 households at 100% 75% and 50% performance respectively. The study
concludes that small hydropower plants are viable option for reducing the energy deficit of the country and can also
help in the attainment of sustainable development goals 7 (universal energy access for all). The study recommends
that government must take advantage of emerging GIS and remote sensing technologies to identify, estimate, and
develop small hydropower plants for rural electrification while pursing and encouraging energy democratisation and
decentralization.