[Stoves] [stove] Report from Nigeria

Paul Anderson psanders at ilstu.edu
Mon Dec 7 15:43:58 CST 2015


Stovers,

The message below came from Kirk Smith via his Stove (singular word) 
ListServ.   So I am forwarding it and (later) some other messages of 
interest about LPG for clean cooking stoves.

LPG for cookstoves was a point of discussion at the GACC Forum in Ghana 
last month.   Ghana has recently (a few years back) discovered and is 
using gas deposits.   Discussions included lamenting the promotion of a 
fossil fuel LPG instead of renewable biomass.   The counter points 
include 1)  abundant gases that are just being flared (so use them), and 
2)  that developed countries should not be working against the 
developing countries utilizing fuels that helped build the West.

Not an easy or quick resolution.   "Stovers" (biomass types, mainly) 
need to be aware of such alternatives and issues.

See Kirk's message below with Nigerian kerosene data. and ask yourself:
Given that solutions exist (LPG, micro-gasifiers, and more) for the 
solving of the clean cooking problems of health and more, What numbers 
of deaths (and other hardships) are inflicted upon one's own people by 
corrupt government and selfish business interests?

Paul

Doc  /  Dr TLUD  /  Prof. Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Email:  psanders at ilstu.edu
Skype: paultlud      Phone: +1-309-452-7072
Website:  www.drtlud.com

On 12/6/2015 1:54 AM, Kirk Smith wrote:
>
> I am just returning from nearly a week  in Lagos where I gave the 
> keynote address at the Nigeria LP Gas Association annual meeting.  (My 
> slides can  be downloaded from the website below – see “Talks.)  Spent 
> the rest of the time visiting LPG facilities, slum and small-town 
> household kitchens, and the energy people at Lagos University.   (I 
> might note that I used personal funds for the travel)
>
> The household fuel situation in Nigeria is quite anomalous by 
> comparison to other West African countries or other parts of the 
> world.   For its level of development, it has both a high use of 
> biomass (66% -- see pie chart below) and low LPG use (5%), in spite of 
> being 50% urban  and having the 7^th largest gas reserves of any 
> country. Annual use of LPG, for example, is just about 1 kg per 
> capita, far below the West African average of 4+ even though richer 
> than the average and having more than half  of the population of the 
> region, thus driving down the average.   It actually exports 85%  of 
> the LPG it produces, when there is clearly suppressed demand in the 
> country.
>
> One reason is the high continued use of kerosene as a cooking fuel – 
> 27%.  ( I do not know of a country that today has a higher kero use 
> for cooking, but please let me know of any.  Given  its size, Nigeria 
> must in any case contain a large percentage of all kero cooking in the 
> world)  This is due to a heavy long-term untargeted subsidy for kero 
> and consequent strong entrenchment of special interests that make 
> billions of dollars from it annually.   I was told that at least 2 
> recent presidential elections were “bought” by the kero lobbies.  As 
> elsewhere, much or even most of the subsidy benefit actually accrues 
> to special interests and owners of diesel trucks because of 
> diversion.  (as most of you know, household kero use has high impacts  
> on health and climate per unit useful energy)
>
> Nevertheless, there seems real opportunity for a large-scale expansion 
> of LPG, in two major phases
>
> --First to substitute LPG  for kerosene following  something like the 
> highly successful effort by Indonesia to do so starting in 2007.   
> Like there, it would save the Nigerian gov substantially by 
> eliminating the kero subsidies, which are bad for health, climate, and 
> economy. Monthly LPG costs, unsubsidized, are actually cheaper than 
> subsidized kero If up-front costs can be handled, the recurring costs 
> of LPG are less that kero due to much higher efficiency, even if 
> unsubsidized.   Like Indonesia, there would have to be, sometimes 
> painful, accommodation of the special interests, as  well as easing 
> the transition by poor households through provision of the first 
> cylinder and stove.
>
> --Second would be a  major expansion of LPG into  wood-using areas 
> focusing first in the north where massive deforestation is occurring 
> due to fuel gathering (as well as overpopulation and climate 
> change).   See map below. Perhaps somewhat along the lines of  
> targeted subsidies as is happening in India.    In  this case, there 
> would be a serious carbon benefit with potential international funds 
> to assist.
>
> The optimism that something may happen is not only due to the rising 
> obvious perversity of the current situation,  but also that the new 
> gov here, the first to actually directly clamp down on corruption in 
> decades,  is giving most people I spoke with renewed hope for turning 
> the country around and is focused on such social programs.  They speak 
> of a ~14x (!) increase of LPG demand in 10 years -- from 5 to 50% 
> coverage with a  rising population.  Ambitious to be sure, but the 
> kind of effort needed.
>
> Another 115 million more people that could have clean fuels before too 
> long!.  I might note that even though already the 7^th most populous 
> country in the world, Nigeria has one of  the highest fertility rates 
> and may reach 900 million by 2100 (from ~185 million now) and will be 
> 3^rd largest in the world by 2050.  Thus, a good proportion of the 
> population in the world we most want to protect from household air 
> pollution, babies and pregnant women, will be in Nigeria.
>
> An even greater incentive to start soon./k
>
> p.s. Ethanol is another option as a clean fuel for which Nigeria has 
> special advantages being a major producer of cassava, an excellent 
> renewable source.  At present, however, there is not even enough 
> production to cover food needs and thus no  capability to expand into 
> fuel.  This could change with a concerted program, however, although a 
> difficult case to make in a country with so much domestic gas reserve 
> and rapid population growth requiring more food each year.
>
> p.p.s,  Kero lighting is also widely used because of lack of reliable 
> power in many areas.   I was told, however, that rechargeable LED 
> lamps are rapidly replacing kero lamps, but I have not yet seen any 
> data in support.
>
> ------------slides-------------
>
deleted during resending:
A.  Pie chart with biomass at 56% and LPG at 5 % of Nigerian household 
energy.

B.   Map of Nigeria showing wood fuel dominating in the northern half of 
the country.
>
> Nigeria’s cookfuel situation – very low LPG use in spite of having the 
> 7^th largest gas reserves in the world.  Currently, 40% of gas 
> produced is flared.
>
>
> North of the red line, deforestation and desertification are serious 
> in Nigeria due partly to fuelwood harvesting.
>
>
> ---------------------------
> Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD
> Professor of Global Environmental Health
>
> Chair, Graduate Group in Environmental Health Sciences
> Director of the Global Health and Environment Program
> School of Public Health
> 747 University Hall
> University of California
> Berkeley, California, 94720-7360
> phone 1-510-643-0793; fax 642-5815
> krksmith at berkeley.edu <mailto:krksmith at berkeley.edu>
> http://www.kirkrsmith.org/
>
>
>
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