Public Sensitisation on the Adoption of Renewable Energy in Nigeria: Communicating the Way Forward

Abstract

In the last three decades, the usage of power had grown astronomical in both developed and developing countries of the World. Petroleum storage has continued to decrease in recent years. According to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) the storage of oil will be used out by the 21 st Century, and in addition, the global warming has now become a thing of reality, even to common people. Therefore, judging from a developmental communication perspective, it has become an issue of urgent importance to sensitise the people on how to make good use of renewable energy in their daily energy demands. The purpose of this research is to create awareness, inform and educate on the concept of renewable energy. Therefore to achieve these objectives, the following guided questions are answered: what it is renewable energy? What are the different types of renewable energy? What are the roles of renewable energy in Nigeria power supply? What are possible hindrances to renewable energy usage in Nigeria? And finally, in which ways can Nigerian government create incentives and encourage the people to adopt renewable energy for use? This paper argues that people must be educated as to the benefits of considering renewable energy for energy generation in Nigeria and that government should put in place adequate incentives for ease of facility procurement and rewards for all adopters. Therefore, this paper concludes that serious awareness must be created among society coupled with provision of facilities and incentives for people to adopt usage of renewable energy in Nigeria.