Harnessing the potential of small hydro power in Cross River state of Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Recently, the use of hydro power as a renewable energy source, to provide power solutions is on the rise. Currently, one-fifth of the global electricity generation is from hydro power technology. In this study, the potential of harnessing Small Hydro Power (SHP) in Cross River State of the southern part of Nigeria is presented, considering the different sites of hydro power in the entire state. The concentration of SHP potential sites is skewed heavily towards regions with hills and forest cover. The cost of the SHP project in this work is based on power potential of flow at the lean season, however, the actual cost was established based on the extracted peak seasonal power. In the ranking of the sites for the study, power potential and cost were used as criteria. The recommended top three sites based on the ranking of the SHP projects were: Kwa Falls, located in Akamkpa, Kundeve stone market stream, located in Obanliku and Ajasor mission Atang stream, located in Etung. Other criteria used for the selection of sites for development includes: isolation from the grid, high cost of transmitting power from the grid to such communities, economic potential, population and development goals of the government.