RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE NEED FOR LOCAL ENERGY MARKETS

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE NEED FOR LOCAL ENERGY MARKETS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background To Study

There is higher demand for electricity in the country due to the high consumption and need for electricity, and this project is the plan to study the demand for renewable energy resources in Nigeria and to find out the main competitors and discover the best periods for market entry in the country via the micro and the macro environmental analysis.

The Nigerian government is wooing energy companies to come and invest in the country. Special energy policy for foreign investors is being organized, such as tax reduction for energy investors in the country, softening all policies related to energy.

Nigeria has a lot of renewable energy potential such as sunlight, which might be productive for solar power, and abundance bio-waste for biomass energy production. The renewable energy products that Nigeria requires most are Solar, Hydro, Wind, & Bio-energy.

Objectives  of the study

The objective of the thesis is to contribute to to know if the Nigerian SMEs companies can invest in the country and the possibilities of renewable energy market entry in Nigeria and how to helps the inter-nationalization of the Nigerian Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to invest in Nigeria.

The research questions of the thesis are based on the operating environment of investment and business in the energy sector of Nigeria.

Research questions

The key research questions are as follows:

Is it advisable for the Nigerian renewable energy companies invest in Nigeria?

What renewable energy sources have a better potential to be a growing and developing investment in Nigeria?

Methodology

The method used in thesis projects is qualitative research method, which can be refers as scientific researches that consist of investigation that collect evidence, produce findings that are undetermined in advance, need answers to a question, producing information’s that are application beyond the immediate areas of study and use a predefined set of procedures to answer the question.

It is also important for information collections to maintain clear boundaries between information they received by the participant and what they ask the participant. Furthermore, questionnaire was carefully prepared and directed to renewable energy NGO’s (International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development and Council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria) and the Nigerian government organization called the Ministry of Energy. The questionnaire was vital for the aims and objectives of the thesis as part of the CONNECT project requirement. Majority of the questions asked were related to the PESTELS factors.

The questionnaire format is related to questions based on suggestions, energy situation and government incentives and support in establishing a company in the Nigerian market.

The questionnaires are based on their understanding of the energy situation, the availability of renewable energy resources, the level of energy competition companies in the country, the economic and environmental competitive, which were sent to them, via their email address and there was also a follow up by telephone in other to hastening them for responses.  The investigation of this thesis project provides information needed to establish renewable energy in the rural and urban areas that are in need of energy in the country.

Literature reviews is still part of the methodology used in the PESTEL analysis of the project where information are being gathered from different sources, documented, evaluated and presented.

Definition  Of Terms

Renewable energy can be refers to as a natural energy at which its energy supply is limited.

Renewable energy can never run and can be used again and again.

Renewable energy has been in use for so many years in different ways. An example is how the primordial human used the application of wind for sailing; rather the same wind is now used for electricity generation in the modern era.

Some of the renewable energy resources are as follows. Wood, Biomass, Wind, Hydro, Wave, geothermal, tidal and solar. (Clean Energy Ideas, 2012)

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